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Italian, Film, and Me
Posted on Jan 6, 2014 by Allison
When I was in fourth grade, for some reason the gifted and talented program that I was placed in decided to hire a woman, two days a week, to teach us German. Why not Spanish or French? I have no idea. My best guess remains that the administrators simply couldn't find an instructor in Northwest Indiana prepared to teach either of those languages to a roomful of nine year olds.
At any rate, Fraulein Leep was a delightful, energetic instructor auf Deutsch, and I took to the language immediately. I think at that age, I was probably just on the edge of that neural plasticity that allows children to become proficient in a second (or third, etc.) language much more effortlessly than adults. If it had been spoken around me more often than just two days a week, and/or presented as language immersion rather than dry grammar and vocabulary lessons, I probably would have achieved something close to fluency. Regardless, I had a natural affinity for the language and seriously studied it from then all the way through high school. I even declared German as my major as an incoming freshman at Indiana University, before abandoning it for English and Film Studies.
In high school, desperate to weasel out of math and science classes whenever I could, I eventually added French and then Spanish to my schedule. I'd convinced my guidance counselor it was OK because I would be going into international studies, hoping to become a translator or interpreter. I can no longer recall if I actually believed any of those arguments myself. But, I do know that I genuinely loved studying languages for the sake of themselves. I was also quite impressed with my newly invented identity as "language girl."
So convinced I remained of my ability to pick up new languages with relative ease that, in the summer of 1999, I decided that I was going to teach myself Italian. Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful had recently been all the middlebrow rage, and I remembered a Mexican literature professor mentioning that he was able to get around Italy just fine, speaking Spanish, as long as he spoke slowly enough. I reasoned that the bits of Spanish and French I knew could only help my effort, so I procured a copy of Italian for Dummies to get me through the basics.
I was working that summer in the office of a small steel manufacturing company in Hammond, Indiana. I recall very little of whatever tedious tasks I was assigned to complete, only that there was barely enough to keep me busy for a full day. This was just before the Internet really took hold as a business necessity, so, instead of spending my downtime surfing the web, as I would were I in that position now, I somehow got away with reading all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels in chronological order and studying my Italian flashcards at my big metal desk in the corner.
Since I never had anyone to practice or converse with, though, very little of the Italian I managed to cram into my brain stuck with me. But, I developed something of a fixation on Italy itself. Still considering myself a nascent Woman of the World, I declared that the next foreign country I wanted to visit, after I spent the summer of 2000 studying abroad in London, was Italy. In proto-vision board style, I took home a clean paper placemat from some church fundraising spaghetti dinner to hang on my bedroom wall, simply because it had a map of Italy on it.
Life, as it tends to, intervened, though, and these past fifteen years I've been less the international playgirl than I thought I would one day be. A weekend trip to take precepts at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Toronto in the summer of 2009 made Canada my next visit outside the U.S., followed by ten or so days in Ireland three years later. I still haven't been to Italy and even question whether, as a woman in her mid-thirties in the post-Eat, Pray, Love era, that aspiration might even be an embarrassing cliché at this point.
So, as Italy remains a dream for me, it makes sense that I would adore the deliciously dreamlike film The Great Beauty. Chicago's excessively cold temperatures were no match for its two hours and twenty minutes of beautiful people wandering around Rome, celebrating life and philosophizing about death. I've always been notoriously bad at parsing plotlines (something like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy makes my brain numb), so I was grateful to this nearly stream-of-consciousness visual extravaganza, where nothing much happens anyway. I was freed to just revel in the endless dance party sequences, the golden light bathing the city's architecture in a sensual glow, the impeccably fashionable clothing worn by even the minor characters, and the director's loving meditations on the lines in lead actor Toni Servillo's face.
With notions of failure, and regret, and loss, shading the edges of the revelry, though, main character Jep Gambardella finds himself questioning the choices he's made with his life. Was it the right career? The right place? The right time? His friends and associates (and often strangers as well) repeatedly ask him why he never wrote a second novel after his first and only youthful success, as if there could be a satisfying answer to such a question.
Because I watched my own father fail, in ways both major and minor, for so many years, I've long had a soft spot for these kinds of stories about men reckoning with what they didn't, and couldn't, achieve in their lives. Now that he's gone, and now that the passage of time has brought me to what, I suppose, counts as the beginning of the middle of my own story, I wasn't sure if I was identifying with Jep's aimlessness on behalf of my father, or on behalf of myself. Jep, though, does eventually find inspiration for his future in a key memory from his past. I have to believe there's still plenty of time for me to not only find inspiration from my past but to actually allow it to remain in the past as I build a future for myself that's better than any dream.
As is perhaps obvious from my previous post about picking the "right" perfume to wear for New Year's Eve, I'm a sucker for creating a Sense of Occasion for pretty much any event. So, of course, I love making new year's resolutions, though I don't take them as seriously as I did in my teens and early twenties. This year, however, I decided to try a slightly different approach, inspired by a few other blog and Facebook posts I'd read, and declared for myself a Word of the Year instead. After I bit of meditation and contemplation, I settled on BUILD.
Actually, I came up with REBUILD first. But, energetically, that felt a bit more shadowy. Not quite negative, exactly; just touched with loss in a way that I wasn't comfortable with inviting in to set the tone for the full twelve months ahead. (I plan on still working with REBUILD to be honest, just from a more Jungian Shadow perspective, as a necessary yin to the yang of BUILD.)
As for BUILD, though, I intend to use it to remind myself not to run away from a thing after I've enjoyed the excitement of the Beginning of it.
I am endlessly capable of being seduced by Beginnings; it's seeing things through their long, indefinable Middles that I am less good at. Someone once described my defining character trait as my sense of curiosity, which was one of the most accurate (and lovely) things that has ever been said about me. I never want to find myself in a place where I'm not fascinated by the world around me. However, I can often allow that curiosity to serve as justification for half-assing my way through the completion of a goal or project because I want to get to the next shiny thing that's caught my eye. To be sure, in an effort to get to an Ending, I can grit my teeth and barrel through pretty much anything. But after a lifetime of wishing myself to 5 o'clock, or Friday, or the end of the season, or the end of the year, I'm hoping to finally slow down a bit and learn to actually enjoy the Middle of any given experience.
Focusing on Middles is also an attempt to step away from the precocious child routine that has been secretly running my life, like a bad Wes Anderson script, for as long as I can remember. My inner eight year old still wants to be immediately good at a thing, or not do it at all. As I watch so many of my peers beginning to find tangible success in their chosen fields—success that has come through sticking with an idea or goal—I find myself kind of inwardly pouting over my own perceived stasis or lack of achievement. Achievement being a euphemism for recognition here, of course.
I've always been enamored of the spotlight, and applause is usually more of a motivator for me than the simple inner satisfaction of a job well done. But of course applause doesn't come in the middle of a thing, which, I'm sure, has contributed to my attempts to avoid all those slow, quiet spots between the beginning and the end. I wouldn't need to remind myself to focus on BUILDING for a full year if applause didn't matter to me.
But, luckily, I'm starting to see that the secret power of BUILD is in the way it serves as a reminder that I have so many good things in my life right now. BUILD does not equal CREATE. I'm grateful for the solid foundation I've made for myself in so many crucial areas of my life. Surely the best way to honor the work that I've done so far is to not allow those good Beginnings to atrophy into lackluster Endings simply because I've abandoned them as good enough. I'd like to work with the energy of 2014 as a gateway into the middle of my grand adventures, as I begin to BUILD my beginnings into something so much richer than I ever could have imagined from the starting line.
A Smell for the End of the Year
Posted on Dec 31, 2013 by Allison
I don't remember myself as being an overly girly little girl. Mostly, I was a show-off. So, if a dress or other frilly thing helped me show off more effectively, then that was great. But I don't recall gravitating to any certain activity or hobby or way of presenting myself simply because it was specifically feminine.
Who knows how my self-presentation would have continued to develop if my mother hadn't died when I was eight. But, not only did I lose my primary female role model, I also then instinctively but unconsciously began to align myself with my father. I'm sure it partly stemmed from a child's need to imitate her elders in order to experiment with how to be a person in the world, but, in my case, it was also a strategic way to figure out how to avoid my father's hot temper. If I could match him, then hopefully I wouldn't end up doing anything to set him off, because I would be acting as him in some sense.
And so my energy became more and more boyish as I gained weight (thanks to genetics, uncontrollable stress-eating, and my father's lazy habit of feeding us a steady diet of fast food) and marched toward puberty.
In high school, I delighted in being one of the guys, especially among my theater friends, and once wore a tuxedo to host a local musical variety show. I thought it was cheeky, to be a 17-year-old girl with a voluptuous figure dressed like a boy. In reality, I just kept distancing myself further and further from my own femininity.
Around the same time as that variety show, I was performing with a coed show choir that required the girls to wear formal dresses for our many concerts during the holiday season. I'd found an old black velvet halter dress that had belonged to my mother and had it altered to fit my measurements. My best friend and I, dressed up in our finery and walking through the school one afternoon, on our way to some performance or other, ran into two middle-aged women teachers in the hallway near the cafeteria. They asked us to twirl around and show off our dresses, and one of them, in reference to me, drawled to the other, "god, if I had a body like that. . . ." I remain shocked by the comment to this day. Not because it felt threatening or inappropriate, but because, with all my insecurity about my weight and all the ways I felt more like a boy than a girl, I couldn't conceive of my very obviously female body as being anything for anyone to envy.
I've done a lot of work in therapy and meditation and energy healing over the past ten years, and I've started to feel more OK about my body and my gender presentation. One of the most effective ways I've found to play with persona is through perfume. Though I'd always been obsessed with scent, perfume became a more intentional hobby for me in late '09, initially as a distraction from a breakup that wounded me more deeply than I had expected it to. And as my perfume collection grew beyond the point where it was possible to have only a handful of default scents (say, one for work, one for fancy occasions, one for winter, and one for summer), choosing a daily scent became an exercise in asking myself, "how do I want to feel today? What kind of person do I want to be? How can a perfume help me perform the version of myself that I most want to present to the world on his occasion?"
One of the sweeter aspects of my father's personality that has become part of my own is his ability to get sentimental about anything and everything. Which means that I'm not only always looking backward in time at the things I used to do and be, I'm also always projecting myself forward and wanting to make sure that I do right by my future self in making sure I've done enough to memorialize whatever experience I may be living through at the moment. And since scent is so inextricably tied to memory, I'm perhaps overly fixated on finding the "right" perfume to wear on any given day.
I know I'm not alone in this, especially among other smell obsessives that I read about via the many wonderful perfume blogs being published online, but it's extra freighted for me as I seek to retrain my childhood instincts away from a more masculine default that no longer serves me toward a femininity that I've long suppressed and find myself hungering for. All this is bad enough on a daily basis, just going about my regular workaday life. But the decisions are extra-intense on holidays or other special occasions. So today, New Year's Eve 2013, the first thing I thought after getting out of the shower was "oh god, what perfume should I wear to say goodbye to the old year and ring in 2014?"
I'd just received a handful of decants in the mail that I wanted to test, but committing to one of those for the full day was way too risky. What if I picked something that didn't work with my skin's chemistry or inadvertently stimulated some dormant memory of an unpleasant experience? Better to go with something I already knew that I liked.
But, should I go with an old standby—with emphasis on the old? Would an old standby, because of its familiarity, not retain enough magic to mark the specialness of the day? So, that eliminated what felt like dozens of options.
And though I've made peace, despite everything that I've written above, with my attraction to scents that fall toward the more masculine end of the spectrum (particularly the smoky, leathery, boozy ones), perhaps obviously I felt like it was best to steer clear of those today as well. As I was pawing through my perfume box, my fingers touched upon the perfect thing: Arquiste's Anima Dulcis.
It's sweet and sultry and just a bit naughty; my favorite description of it would have to be Denyse Beaulieu's evocation of "a series of embedded stories and/or spaces. In Mexico: a convent. In the convent: a cell. In the cell: a nun. Under the nun's habit: a lace skirt. Under the lace skirt: pimiento, vanilla and chocolate. The holy of holies: a noble virgin's body."
The warm, chocolaty yet slightly sweaty embrace of this perfume pushes me to reimagine myself as a more unguarded, boldly erotic and unapologetic woman. Which, I feel, is as good a reason as any to leave this scent here, on this day, like a bookmark for me to glance back at from some future time, maybe less out of nostalgia and more as a marker of the declaration, "it was from here that I began again."
Why Scorsese and Stiller Are This Holiday Season's Most Meta Directors
I enjoyed The Wolf of Wall Street a heck of a lot. Sure, I feel a little dirty about it, and worry a bit about what Rachel Syme in The New Yorker calls its potential for winning "bad fans" ("watch closely as Scarface posters in frat houses are quietly replaced with Wolf ones," she says), but when I think about my experience of watching it, I know that I was having fun.
And, one of the most fun things about it was DiCaprio's performance. Not just because it was an insane, shameless, fearless, Oscar-worthy, can't-tear-your-eyeballs-away tour de force (which, pretty much any review you're going to read right now will likely agree on), but because it was so pointedly referring back to his whole prior body of work as an actor.
I'm not enough of a fangirl to be able to get chapter-and-verse comprehensive about it, but, for example, tell me that wasn't a Titanic joke in the scene when they were on the ship in the storm and he was standing behind the actress playing his wife, his arms around her, while gripping the railing and looking (in this case, fearfully) into the distance. And, even if DiCaprio insists his Quaalude-induced slug crawl from the country club to his car was a reference to a viral YouTube video, I think it's also a piss-take on his "I'm a serious actor because I'm portraying a character with a handicap" Oscar-bait performance from What's Eating Gilbert Grape. As the hopelessly starry-eyed newbie in thrall to Matthew McConaughey at the beginning of the film, he could be gesturing toward any of his former ingénue characters—an out-of-his-depth Romeo, perhaps? I'm sure there are other examples.
Another instance of "did that just really happen?" meta-commentary in this year's crop of holiday films was the Benjamin Button sequence in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Some critics seem to have thought it was hilarious; others, predictably thought it was a tonal misstep. But I was primarily fascinated with the way the joke was directly referring to another movie based on another early 20th century short story that took the story's title and basic concept as a jumping off point, disregarding everything else.
Even however many years after its release, I stand by my assertion that casting Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button is the most intriguing part of that needlessly bombastic film. There's no way that, without him, the film could evoke the emotional resonance of watching a person age in reverse. It requires an actor who's been so famous for so long for being so beautiful that our own nostalgia for that person's youth will filter back through the film we're watching. (I guess maybe Johnny Depp could have worked the same trick? Or, can you even imagine some alternate-universe version with Elizabeth Taylor?) It was a genius bit of casting, in league with DiCaprio in Wolf as I just mentioned above.
But, that's where the brilliance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button stops. There's almost nothing in Fincher's turgid film that resembles the playful, snotty smarminess of the short story. (And, I say "smarminess" as a huge Fitzgerald fan! It's just that his fixation on his own youth is both why he's awesome and why his writing often reads as overly self-satisfied and insufferable.)
In much the same way, both film versions of Mitty (I've seen bits of the Danny Kaye movie and found it nearly unwatchable) have taken Thurber's sad, sick-feeling short story that's centered around anxiety about masculine ineffectuality and turned it into a man-child's fantasia about Living Yr Dreams! or Becoming the Hero of Yr Own Life Story! or somesuch hokey Hollywood garbage.
And, getting back to my whole point here, does Ben Stiller actually realize that's what he's doing with this Mitty adaptation? I think he does! I think he's admitting it with the Benjamin Button parody! I think he's essentially saying, "look, y'all, the movie version of Benjamin Button pissed all over the Fitzgerald short story and no one seemed to care, so this is my fair warning to you that I'm going to do the same thing now with Thurber. Don't say I didn't tell you in advance how it was going to go down. Peace out." I've always had a lot of respect for him as an actor and a comedian and, despite the almost bone-chilling cynicism of this little hat-tip, I have to say, it's pretty brilliant.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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WA NewsRegional WACrimeCourts & Justice
Wild Mandurah goose chase ends in dramatic double arrest
Wild goose chase ends in dramatic double arrest
VideoPolice have arrested a 27-year-old Mandurah man who led police on a wild goose chase through local streets on Thursday night.
Police have arrested a 27-year-old Mandurah man who led police on a wild goose chase through local streets on Thursday night.
Mandurah Detectives allege about 8.55pm a stolen silver Audi A7 was seen being driven on Old Coast Road in Halls Head.
An attempt to stop the vehicle was made; however, police allege the driver failed to stop and sped away.
A high-speed chase was aborted for safety reasons.
An hour later the same stolen vehicle was spotted being driven north on Lakes Road in Parklands.
Police again attempted to stop the vehicle; however, it will be alleged he once again failed to stop and accelerated away.
The vehicle was monitored by a Police Air Wing crew on board a police helicopter which had been called into the area.
The vehicle later crashed into a fence on Banksiadale Gate in Lakelands.
The driver fled on foot towards the shopping centre; however, he was tracked by the Police Air Wing crew and was arrested shortly after by officers from the Regional Operations Group.
The passenger was also arrested nearby after he was located hiding by the Police Air Wing crew.
The driver, a 27-year-old man from Mandurah, has been charged with stealing a motor vehicle, two counts of stealing, two counts of failing to stop, two counts of reckless driving, breach of bail and having no authority to drive.
He was refused bail and is next due to appear in the same court on Friday, December 18.


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Q: How to open print view via buttons on form view in odoo 10? I am adding two buttons on a form view.
Print Form A
Print Form B
Existing code is generating issue:
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/odoo/tools/safe_eval.py", line 350, in safe_eval
return unsafe_eval(c, globals_dict, locals_dict)

File "", line 1, in
AttributeError: 'model.name' object has no attribute 'name'
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
ValueError: <class 'AttributeError'>: "'model.name' object has no attribute 'name'" while evaluating

"(object.state in ('draft','pending', 'done') and 'Firm - %s' % (object.name)) or 'Firm - %s' % (object.name)"
<report
        id="action_report_form_a"
        string="FORM B"
        model="model.name"
        report_type="qweb-pdf"
        file="module_name.report_firms"
        name="module_name.form_a"
        print_report_name="(object.state in ('draft','pending', 'done') and 'Firm - %s' % (object.name)) or 'Firm - %s' % (object.name)"
    />

    <report
        id="action_report_form_b"
        string="FORM B"
        model="firms.registration"
        report_type="qweb-pdf"
        file="module_name.report_firms"
        name="module_name.form_b"
        print_report_name="(object.state in ('draft','pending', 'done') and 'Firms - %s' % (object.name)) or 'Firms - %s' % (object.name)"
    />
@api.multi
def get_report_values(self, docids, data=None):
    docs = self.env['model.name'].browse(docids)
    return {
        'doc_ids': docs.ids,
        'doc_model': 'model.name',
        'docs': docs,
        'proforma': True
    }

A: If odoo_model = self.env['model.name'] then odoo_model._name (note the underscore) is the string with the model's name ('name' in your example) but if doc_model expects a true Odoo model, you try with self.env.ref('model.name') (or the proper XMLID)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home / Section: Editorial cartooning
CSotD: Dear Leader Goes Postal
Posted by Mike Peterson
(Bill Bramhall)
(Matt Wuerker)
We start today with a Juxtaposition in which Bill Bramhall explains the issue and Matt Wuerker provides an example.
It's hard to believe there was once a time when, at each party's national convention, the platform committee would craft the platform and then — then — the party would nominate someone to carry that platform forward.
Not to say that they didn't often have a very good idea of who that candidate would be, but often there were three or four likely nominees and things would go into the night or longer before the final choice was made.
The primary system has pretty much eliminated that, but, still, having the Trump delegates remove a plank in the 2016 GOP platform holding Russia responsible for the invasion of Ukraine was something that should have been outrageous.
It wasn't, and it took things from "Here's the one who best exemplifies our party" to "Here's the one who our party must now come to imitate."
Hence Matt Wuerker's observation that, while Trump's speeches and his Twitter feed are an endless stream of juvenile insults and name-calling, unchallenged by his loyal party members, Republicans fell to pieces when Nancy Pelosi made a jab which, by the by, was probably not only protected opinion but medically accurate.
However, if you did decide to take it to court, simply telling the court what you claim to weigh would not — heh — swing the scales. It's too easy to ask him to take off his shoes and prove his defense.
Just as it would be easy for him to release his tax records and prove he's a successful businessman or release his school records and prove his boast of having graduated with honors.
Which he doesn't have to, because he can say he had the biggest inaugural crowd in history and, even though it is clearly, obviously, provably untrue, his loyal GOP minions will agree that he's right.
Though the Onanism Network found it kind of expensive to be too loyal the other day, when they sued Rachel Maddow for accurately reporting that they employed a correspondent who also writes for a Russian propaganda outlet, and giving her opinion that OAN "really, literally is paid Russian propaganda."
Not only did the judge throw their suit out, but they are now forced to play the attorney's fees for Maddow and MSNBC.
Meanwhile, Lisa Benson cites a many-times-disproven paranoid theory about DNC/FBI spies under Trump's bed, which is, I suppose, part of the Obamagate myth promoted by Q-anon and Trump.
"Spygate" being such a fringe delusion that, in order to find out WTF these nuts are talking about, you have to first sort through a lot of information about the New England Patriots peeking at their opponents.
Which has the advantage of having actually happened.
Loyalty to Dear Leader, however, demands believing in such things, which prompted the Onanism Network's White House correspondent to ask Kayleigh McEnany whether Trump planned to pardon Obama.
And it would all be hilarious if there weren't a substantial number of people out there eating it all up and planning to vote accordingly in November.
Mike Luckovich is funny, but it's gallows humor. It's not simply that the GOP won't step up to refute Dear Leader's nonsensical, hateful rhetoric, but they dutifully support any delusional beliefs that appear to offer political advantage.
That includes going back to Ukraine to poke around some more in how Joe Biden's son got a job because of his connections rather than his qualifications.
They should get Jared and Ivanka on that scandal right away!
While, as Christopher Weyant notes, Trump is busily extorting loyalty from Michigan through a combination of withholding funds and insulting its leadership. And, yes, it does sound familiar.
The latest delusion, illustrated here by Jeff Danziger, combines Trump's hatred of the USPS and his absurd theory that vote-by-mail is yet another source of fraud, similar to the busloads of illegal aliens who gave Hillary Clinton millions of phony votes.
And then disappeared like a mist, which is a neat trick considering it would take about 30,000 buses to hold that many illegal voters.
But rationality and logic have no place in this debate, and Trump fired his first salvo by accusing Michigan of sending out absentee ballots, which never happened: They sent out applications for absentee/vote-by-mail ballots.
Just as the Republican National Committee did in several states, including Michigan.
And, as Pat Bagley notes, Utah has a substantial history of vote-by-mail and a substantial GOP representation as a result.
But we can't contradict Dear Leader. Heavens forfend!
It's all part of his cunning plan, as Nick Anderson points out, for winning the 2020 elections by whatever means necessary.
If that means discouraging people from voting, well, that could be part of it. Shutting down polling stations, banning vote-by-mail, demanding people who used to vote by matching their signatures in the book at each election now come up with legal IDs they may not have any other need for, these are all tools in the voter-discouraging, election-fixing toolbox.
And, as Ann Telnaes charges, it's hard to dismiss Trump's repeated charges of voter fraud as anything less than part of a plan to prepare his Deplorables for the outcome he has in mind, regardless of what the numbers show at the end of the day November 3.
I used to say it in jest, but I'm beginning to wonder if this election will end with tanks surrounding the White House, the important question at that point being which way the turrets are facing.
The anti-patriotic loyalty of elephants placing us in a grim …
Juxtaposition of the End
(Clay Bennett)
(Rob Rogers)
I think Bennett speaks more metaphorically than literally, in that I don't think Putin actually wants to take over the United States and rule it through a puppet government.
I think, rather, that his interference is designed, as Rob Rogers puts it, to make Trump and the United States a laughingstock among nations and remove us as a credible opponent on the world stage.
So far, so good.
#1 Mary McNeil
@ 4:20 pm
In re: proving the truth of the "obese" accusation -Are you assuming that the equally – er – hefty Mr Barr would allow the case to go to court ?
#2 Mike Peterson
I'm assuming that, if they sued Pelosi for slander, they'd want the case to go through. I suppose if she sued them, they might duck out, but she's not that dumb.


text:
FDA Clears Zilucoplan IND for Immune-Mediated Necrotizing Myopathy
Zilucoplan, also being developed for generalized myasthenia gravis, is expected to enter into a phase 2 clinical trial in IMNM in the second half of 2019, according to Ra Pharma.
Doug Treco, PhD
The FDA has cleared an investigational new drug application (IND) for zilucoplan for the treatment of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), for which there are no approved therapies. The treatment, designed for subcutaneous self-administration, is expected to be assessed in a phase 2 clinical trial in the latter half of 2019, according to its manufacturer, Ra Pharmaceuticals.1
The phase 2 trial is expected to enroll 24 patients to be assessed over an 8-week treatment period. The primary end point will be the change in CK from baseline to week 8, and upon completion of the trial, participants will have the opportunity to enter into an open-label, long-term extension study with zilucoplan.
"The IMNM program represents a meaningful expansion of our neuromuscular pipeline for zilucoplan, as we aim to leverage the unique properties of a small peptide in tissue-based complement-mediated disorders and build on the success of our phase 2 trial for zilucoplan in generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG)," Doug Treco, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ra Pharma, in a statement. "We look forward to the initiation of this phase 2 clinical trial in the second half of this year, an important step forward in our efforts to bring innovative and accessible therapies to patients and build a leading complement-focused neurology and neuromuscular portfolio."
The study will be randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, and take place at a number of sites, with patients expected to be randomized 1:1—stratified based on antibody status (anti-HMGCR+ versus anti-SRP+)—to either daily subcutaneous doses of 0.3 mg/kg zilucoplan or placebo.
IMNM is categorized into a pair of subtypes, defined by the presence of distinct autoantibodies against 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) or signal recognition particle (SRP). These autoantibodies drive the complement-mediated necrosis of muscle fibers, resulting in severe, progressive, and debilitating proximal muscle weakness for the more than 15,000 patients in the US, European Union, and Japan estimated to have the condition.
"Patients with IMNM face a severe, chronic, debilitating autoimmune disease with limited treatment options and no approved therapies," said Andrew Mammen, MD, PhD, Muscle Disease Unit Leader, Laboratory of Muscle Stem Cells and Gene Regulation, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, in a statement. "Given the availability of diagnostic autoantibodies and the central role of terminal complement activation in the pathophysiology of the disease, zilucoplan has the potential to become a targeted therapy for patients with IMNM."
Mammen, who is also the principal investigator for the phase 2 study, added that "the results observed in the recent phase 2 clinical trial of zilucoplan in gMg, a neuromuscular disease similarly characterized by autoantibody-mediated complement activation and tissue injury, provide a strong rationale for the clinical evaluation of zilucoplan in this disease."
Data from that phase 2 trial in gMG was presented at the 2019 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, revealing clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in the primary and key secondary efficacy end points, which included a change in baseline in mean Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) score, as well as the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) score, Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life 15-item rating (MGQoL15r) scale, and the MG composite at baseline to Week 12.2
James F. Howard, MD, Distinguished Professor of Neuromuscular Disease, chief, Neuromuscular Disorders Section, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, presented the data at AAN for the higher dose compared to the placebo group from the open-label extension period, of which 98% (n = 43) of patients entered. All told, there had bee 44 patients included in the analysis, randomized 1:1:1 to placebo (n = 15), zilucoplan 0.1 mg/kg (n = 15), or zilucoplan 0.3 mg/kg (n = 14), delivered subcutaneously and daily over the 12-week treatment period.
In the study period, the 0.3-mg/kg group was shown to experience a mean reduction of 6 points in QMG score (placebo corrected change, —2.8; P = .05) in addition to a reduction of 3.4 points in MG-ADL score (placebo-corrected change: –2.3; P = .04).3
In the extension period, patients on the 0.3 mg/kg dose remained as such (n = 15) while the placebo patients switched to the 0.3 mg/kg dose (n = 14). The change from baseline in QMG through Week 24 was significant for both the original treatment arm (P <.0001) and the original placebo arm (P = .01). This was also true for both groups, respectively, at Week 24 change in MG-ADL scores (treatment arm, P <.0001; placebo arm, P = .0004).
According to Ra Pharma, zilucoplan and its extended release (XR) formulation are being developed for other tissue-based, complement-mediated disorders with high unmet medical need, in addition to gMG and IMNM. Zilucoplan is an investigational, synthetic, macrocyclic peptide discovered using Ra Pharma's proprietary drug discovery technology, designed to bind complement component 5 (C5) with sub-nanomolar affinity and allosterically inhibit its cleavage into C5a and C5b upon activation of the classical, alternative, or lectin pathways.
1. Ra Pharmaceuticals Announces Expansion of Neuromuscular Portfolio with Clearance of IND Application for Zilucoplan for the Treatment of Immune-Mediated Necrotizing Myopathy [press release]. Cambridge, MA: Ra Pharmaceuticals; Published June 4, 2019. finance.yahoo.com/news/ra-pharmaceuticals-announces-expansion-neuromuscular-110000947.html. Accessed June 5, 2019.
2. Howard JF, Nowak RJ, Wolfe GI, et al. Zilucoplan, a Subcutaneously Self-Administered Peptide Inhibitor of Complement Component 5 (C5), for the Treatment of Generalized Myasthenia Gravis: Results of a Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial and Open-Label Long-Term Extension. Presented at: 2019 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. May 4-10, 2019; Philadelphia, PA.
3. Ra Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Top-line Data from Phase 2 Trial of Zilucoplan in Patients with Generalized Myasthenia Gravis [press release]. Cambridge, MA: Ra Pharmaceuticals; Published December 10, 2018. businesswire.com/news/home/20181210005188/en/Ra-Pharmaceuticals-Announces-Positive-Top-line-Data-Phase. Accessed May 9, 2019.
Clinical | News | Neuromuscular


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Nonprofit Corner
Reading Stoneham Wakefield Winchester Woburn
Stoneham, Reading Head to Polls - Finances, Congeniality Top Issues
Apr 02, 2019 11:13PM ● By Dan Marra
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Town elections tend to have low voter turnout and that trend continue in the town elections in Stoneham and Reading held on Tuesday, April 2.
But the motivations for those who did show up at the polls on Tuesday varied between each town.
The town of Reading for the second time in as many years voted for new leadership on the board. According to the unofficial results, Anne Landry secured the highest number of votes (1,981) with Mark Dockser (1,470) taking the second spot on the Select Board. Both Landry and Dockser won seats on the board. Carl Bacci finished with 1,309, incumbent Barry Berman had 1,189 and Peter Kramer finished with 543 votes.
The 3,642 votes cast in the election was a far cry from where voter turnout was a year ago in Reading when 8,563 ballots were counted, equaling more than 40 percent of all registered voters in Reading when an override was on the ballot. This year fell more in line with a traditional town election with only 18 percent of the town casting their vote. In 2017, for example, only 17.5 percent of voters went to the ballot box.
But for those that did make it to Reading High School, the issues the voters cared about all had a similar theme – education and finances.
"My main issue in voting today was to make sure we take care of the town financially," said Reading resident Peter Maguire. "My children are grown, but I still have grandchildren in the middle school and I want to make sure the funding is there for them like it was for my kids."
And for others, the drive to the ballot box was in direct result of last year's override.
"The idea of putting a moratorium on overrides for five years is something I really liked," said George Riccardelli, citing a promise from Bacci. "We just have crazy taxes now and the town has been irresponsible in the way they spend money."
But for Paul Reynolds, the goal of the election was simple: "I want someone who is conservative and fiscally prudent."
To view the rest of the town-wide results, please clickhere.
The low turnout was similar in Stoneham where unofficially 2,181 voters cast their ballot out of more than 16,000 voters. That number is especially stark when compared to the more than 11,000 residents that voted in this past election in November.
The race was close between the top two Select Board candidates, both securing a spot on the board – in newcomer Heidi Bilbo (1,1,59) and incumbent George Seibold (1,139). Joseph Bromander (898) placed third and Robert Verner (540) finished fourth.
For residents that cast their ballot in Stoneham, it was a mixture of civic duty and finding a candidate that is not afraid to negotiate to get things done.
"It's important to vote in local elections," said Stoneham resident Sara Clarke. "Local elections is where change occurs, it's where you're best able to, as a citizen, determine how you want your community to run."
But many wanted someone who can connect with residents in the town.
"I want someone who has a background of working with others," said Stoneham resident Wendy Smith. "I want someone who can work with people who have different ideas that can move the town forward."
"I don't like the bickering in town," said resident Tony Carbone. "Too many times they're forgetting about the people. The candidates need to understand that they may not agree on everything, but they need to do what's right for the people in this town."
To view the results of the Stoneham town election, click here.
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Town Government, Stoneham, Reading
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North Suburban News


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Home Writing with Your Nose
Writing with Your Nose
July 28, 2003 Chip Scanlan
Chip on Your ShoulderMedia Innovation
Good reporters have a nose for news. They can sniff out a story. Smell a scandal. Give them a whiff of corruption and they'll root it out like a pig diving for truffles.
If that's true, why do so few of them take advantage of that olfactory skill in their writing?
Write with the senses, editors and writing teachers implore. And most of us do that, providing our readers with vivid images and resonant sounds.
But hunt high and low in today's newspaper for a sense of smell and most days you'll come up as empty as a bloodhound who's lost the scent. Even the food pages, which one would expect to be as aromatic as a bakery before dawn, are generally odorless. Tastes abound, but smells, the scents that get the salivary juices running, are absent.
"Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived," observed Helen Keller, whose blindness made her acutely aware of the nose's powers.
"The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief."
HOW SMELL WORKS
Pick a smell and it will take you back to times past, remembered places. I need only catch a whiff of patchouli oil and it's the '60s again. Another scent catapults me back to my father's wake when I was 10 years old. Bouquets of lilies and roses and sprays of mums and daisies surrounded his coffin, but the cloying, overrripe scent of carnations summons that memory with its churning blend of grief, fear, and shock.
"Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines, hidden under the weedy mass of many years and experiences," Diane Ackerman writes in "A Natural History of the Senses," a sensory-rich journey. "Hit a tripwire of smell, and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth."
Bob Kerr, Providence Journal columnist and a Vietnam veteran, says that jungle war is captured for him in the confluence of two smells generated by the malodorous duty that required soldiers to dispose of latrine contents with fire: "diesel fuel and burning shitters."
No one has written more powerfully about the senses than Ackerman, whose book catalogues the potency of sensory data. "Nothing is more memorable than a smell," she says. Or as evocative.
All of us have a lengthy catalog of smells that make us remember and feel. So why are we so reluctant to employ them in our writing?
Ackerman makes the case that the problem is in our head, in the connections that link our sense of smell with the parts of the brain where language forms. She calls smell "the mute sense, the one without words."
Try describing a smell to someone who's never smelled it, she says, and you'll see how our olfactory precision quickly diffuses.
"The physiological links between the smell and language centers of the brain are pitifully weak," compared with those "between the smell and the memory centers, a route that carries us nimbly across time and distance."
"When we see something we can describe it in gushing detail, in a cascade of images … But who can map the features of a smell?"
Not many writers, but there is one who writes powerfully with his nose: Richard Price, the novelist ("Clockers" and "Freedomland") and screenwriter ("The Color of Money" and "Sea of Love.")
The novels of Richard Price reek, in the very best sense of the word.
A close look at the way he uses the sense of smell in his latest novel, "Samaritan," reveals a taxonomy of olfactory usage that any writer, of whatever genre or form, can profit from.
THE MADELEINE EFFECT
"Straightening up, he was struck with a humid waft of boiled hot dogs and some kind of furry bean-based soup that threw him right back into tenth grade."
For French novelist Marcel Proust, taste was the bridge between present and past, captured in the legendary scene in "Remembrance of Things Past" when the act of dipping a madeleine, a small shell-shaped pastry, into a cup of lime-flower tea, enables the narrator to relive a moment from his past. In the gritty world of Price's urban New Jersey wasteland, the smell of cafeteria food is an equally powerful time transporter.
SENSE OF SMELL AS PLACE
"As Nerese came through the gates, manned today by a retired cop she knew by face but not by name, the air become redolent of a heady mix of river tang and churned earth, and she found herself on a fragile ribbon of asphalt hemmed in by hillocks of backhoed dirt, each mound posted as the future site of a pool, tennis court, health club or recreation center — each one a rest stop for the gulls, overrun with cracked clam shells, construction debris and its own random greenery — weeds, moss Arms to Heaven and whatever else took root via neglect."
"Consider the Five Ws," says Jeff Klinkenberg, outdoors writer for the St. Petersburg Times:
Who is character;
What is plot;
When is chronology;
Why is motive;
Where is place, the boundaries of the story.
"Journalists are pretty good at getting the first four into their work," he says. "But 'Where' is the least explored and the most poorly executed in American journalism."
Make place a character in your story, Klinkenberg advises. You can do it with sights, sounds, or, as Price does so effectively, with smell — "a heady mix of river tang and churned earth" that puts the reader inside the early adolescence of a gated community.
Price repeatedly uses smells to evoke a sense of place.
"Outdoors again, she inhaled a low-tied stench, funky but evocative, coming off the conjunction of river and bay."
"The lobby of his old building, as he'd expected, seemed smaller to him but the smell caught him off guard: a claustrophic stankiness — urine, old bacon grease."
"A greasy aroma drifted down from the third-floor food court — spare ribs and Cinnabons…"
SMELL AS CHARACTER TRAIT
Writers regularly use visual cues to distinguish one character from another. Price uses scents the same way, marking his characters with distinctive smells, like the tracks of a woman's perfume and the effect it has on the hero.
"Danielle then embraced Ray. She was sporting some kind of vanilla-musk body spray, the scent so dense that it made him dizzy."
"Wearing dry-cleaned jeans and a white T-shirt under a red bolero jacket, she gingerly wandered about, lightly touching things, her perfume, that vanilla musk, laying down a heavy sweetish track wherever she went."
"As they left the apartment, heading for a restaurant, Ray became aware that Danielle's perfume would still be in the air a few hours from now when he returned, just hanging there like an unmitigated longing, and there would be nothing he could do about it."
"With nothing to lose, he tried to kiss her again, get his nose up in that vanilla-scented hair."
"The car smelled of her, smelled like panic."
"He was halfway across the stick shift again, lost in her scent when she abruptly opened the passenger door, making him jerk back in surprise."
SMELL AS MOOD
Make cookies, real estate agents advise homesellers who know the smell evokes a homey atmosphere. (Or just sprinkle a few drops of vanilla on a hot lightbulb to get the same effect.)
"It was cold, the city-borne breeze damp and acrid, still damp with dread after all this time."
"This time around, the hospital smelled like terror; a pervasively astringent reek that set up house between Ray's eyes and made the two-month-old 'Entertainment Weekly' spread-eagled between his fists flutter as if caught in a gentle breeze."
SMELL AS CULTURE
"Leading the way, White Tom pushed into the bodega. The reek of the boric acid in roach powder hit Ray between the eyes three steps in from the door."
"Nerese took five, studying the solid street of blue-collar houses, an unidentifiable waft of third-world dinner floating past her from up the block."
Anatomy of a Smell: Writing with Your Nose
"Each day," Ackerman writes, "we breathe about 23,040 times and move around 438 cubic feet of air. It takes us about five seconds to breathe — two seconds to inhale and three seconds to exhale — and, in that time, molecules of odor flood through our systems."
"Unlike the other senses," Ackerman explains, "smell needs no interpreter."
But the twinned reflex of breathing described by scientists and the work of Richard Price suggests ways writers can use smell to convey information, memory, and emotion in their stories.
1. Breathe In.
"Over time, smell has become the least necessary of our senses," Ackerman says, quoting Helen Keller's name for it: "the fallen angel."
Our antiseptic age seems designed to rob us of smells or confuse our nose with synthetic concotions that mask noxious chemicals with the aromas of the orchard.
Cultivate your sense of smell by using it as much as you can.
2. Name that smell.
Diane Ackerman says, "We can detect over 10,000 different odors, so many, in fact, that our memories would fail us if we tried to jot down everything they represent."
During recent workshops, I've asked writers and editors to help me develop a catalogue of smells. Here's a list from a recent session at the Providence Journal:
Dried seaweed
Sen-Sen
Stogies
After summer rain
Coffee with cream
3. Describe the smell.
Modifiers can heighten a smell's impact. Price regularly uses them in his olfactory details.
"The air smelled of sea funk and overturned earth; the only thing Ray loved about living in Little Venice, the raw and heady scent made him think of new beginnings, of second and third chances to get things right."
And this one from a Providence Journal reporter: "the chilled funkiness of an ice rink."
Price also describes the nature of odors, a technique that adds to the muscularity of his prose.
"Then, reentering the apartment from the terrace, she gave the living room a fresh look. Minus the caustic reek of mothballs … the place had the same vaguely geriatric un-lived-in feel as Mrs. Kuben's digs next door…"
Nerese found herself walking into a living room adrift in malt liquor fumes, her son and three of his high school buddies playing at being players, sprawled on the couch, throwing back forties and clutching their nuts, a porno video playing on the TV.
Simile and metaphor, the workhorses of poetry, can help convey a smell's power to a reader.
4. Breathe Out: Find the Source.
Smells are triggers, chemical substances that summon memories and inspire feelings. "A humid waft of boiled hot dogs and some kind of furry bean-based soup" transports the adult narrator in Price's "Samaritan" back to 10th grade.
Don't just inhale the world. Identify the memory or feeling it evokes.
Reading Richard Price and then noticing how few writers, myself included, take as full advantage of their sense of smell as he does, has made me more alert to the power of this sense.
It also reminded me that a scent can provide a story's most haunting moment. Two decades ago, I wrote a story called "The Death of a Smoker" as part of a series on early efforts to sue tobacco companies for smoking-related illnesses and deaths. The smoker's widow was showing me around the home she had shared with her husband before lung cancer killed him. In her bedroom, she paused and told me something that I used to end the piece.
"It feels like one big nightmare," she says. "Maybe I will wake up, and he will be in bed with me. But I know it's not going to be so. Would you believe it? I take his aftershave lotion and spray it on his pillow just so I can smell him. Just the smell of it makes me feel like he's with me."
[ What smells take you back? ]


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3 Stocks Robinhood Investors Love
Among the online brokerage firms, Robinhood is certainly the one that gets the most media attention. Its appeal to younger investors, gives insight into what the next generation is interested in. Not surprisingly, tech and growth names lead the list of Robinhood's most popular stocks. While some of these have had great financial success, others show the exposure to speculation that this demographic of investors seem to be overly comfortable with.
These are three stocks Robinhood investors are interested in, as of Nov. 27, 2020.
King of e-commerce
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is consistently on the list of top stocks Robinhood investors are interested in. It's not hard to see why. Robinhood appeals to the younger crowd. That demographic loves tech companies, and Amazon is one of the clearer winners among Robinhood's most popular stocks. Over the last three years, Amazon shares have gained over 150%, handily outpacing the market. Its disruption of traditional retail has been unrelenting, and investors have embraced it.
This year has only helped the story. COVID-19, the subsequent economic shutdown, and social distancing all led consumers online to do more of their shopping. Names like Amazon, Walmart, and Target all had distinct advantages in comparison to smaller operations when it comes to maneuvering this kind of tumultuous event. After the shutdown ended, Amazon has continued to benefit from social distancing. Third quarter sales ended September 30. increased a whopping 37%.
The e-commerce titan recently launched its online pharmacy business in the United States, furthering the company's attempts to leverage price and online convenience to derive market share in new spaces. Not everything Amazon does always works, but if the company can offer a better deal in terms of pricing and convenience, it's hard to see Amazon Pharmacy not adding value to the company.
No lack of love for cannabis
Aphria (NASDAQ:APHA) can be found jumping around near the top of Robinhood's top 100 most popular stocks. The Canadian marijuana company was once one of the favored front runners in the industry due to its profitability as a medical marijuana supplier. Of course, the hype surrounding the market became a bit speculative. The large names within the space including Aphria, Canopy Growth, and Tilray have all taken heavy losses as they have scaled up production to compete.
Accusations by short-sellers that the company's top executives were making investments in useless entities for profit led to a bit of chaos for Aphria. Since CEO Vic Neufeld stepped down, investors are more focused on sales and the bottom line. Revenue growth has been phenomenal.
After the shakeup in management, Aphria continues to seek scalable profitability. Revenue growth has been substantial, but losses continue to be significant. For the last fiscal year ended in May 2020, Aphria had reported annualized revenue growth of 128.73% to 542.34 million Canadian dollars. Through that same time frame, losses increased 450% to $90.81 million. The losses continue to be a drag for the stock. While sales growth has been tremendous, the bullish sentiment can't break free of the lack of profitability.
At the beginning of November, news broke that Aphria was buying U.S. based Sweetwater Brewing for $300 million. The brewing company uses hemp to create cannabis flavors in its beers. Part of the strategic reasoning provided by the company was that Sweetwater set the company up for easier access to the U.S. market if the government legalizes cannabis at the federal level.
Estimates don't call for Aphria to start producing profitable earnings until 2023. Of course, if estimates were always right, investing would be a pretty easy game. This is a situation where shareholders could see big returns if the company can shift to meaningful profitability, while avoiding overextending itself to do it.
The company has expanded in Europe, serving as one of the main medical suppliers for Germany, with operations in other countries as well. The Sweetwater acquisition takes Aphria into something new. Of course, the desired integration in which Aphria can sell cannabis infused drinks, will be a tough sell in the U.S. for quite some time. Investors could be waiting a long time to see Aphria start making some real money.
Streaming and theme parks
Disney (NYSE:DIS) has been an investment gem for a long time. Today, the company is at a crossroads. COVID-19 has ravaged its theme park business, resulting in a big financial headache. On the flipside, it's foray into streaming through Disney plus, Hulu, and its 21st century fox assets, have all benefited from social distancing.
Finishing its fiscal year on October 3, Disney saw a 23% decline in revenues for the fiscal fourth quarter. The divided nature of their businesses, can be seen in the variations in growth. Media Networks were up 14% for the full fiscal year, while direct-to-consumer/international revenues increased 81%; demonstrating the huge rise in Disney's streaming business.
That subscription revenue wasn't enough to fend off the declines in parks/experiences and studio entertainment, with revenue fallout of 37% and 13% respectively. In all, operating income from parks/experiences shifted from $6.76 billion the year before, to a loss of $81 million in fiscal 2020. Studio entertainment operating income declined 7% to $2.5 billion.
The stock is up since Disney reported earnings on Nov. 12, thanks to losses that were less than expected. Overall, there seems to be a blend of momentum between the overall market rally, combined with expectations that vaccines for COVID-19 will help Disney's parks business get back into the swing of it. Until that happens, Disney faces a tough situation.
Robinhood investors do seem to have an aptitude for stocks that are highly speculative. The most popular stock right now is Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE), a commercial space company with no real sales relative to its valuation. However, the three stocks discussed above are far more appealing when choosing investments.


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Free to You and Me
On a recent Sunday evening a steady stream of mainly twentysomethings began stacking their shoes outside a walk-up apartment in downtown Brooklyn. "It's okay in the kitchen, but we try and keep shoes off of the wood floors," explained one of the hosts, and, as more and more people began congregating in the kitchen and living room, the need for such a rule became apparent.
The aroma of pesto percolated through the apartment where a dozen housemates and guests were diligently slicing bread for bruschetta, cutting up mango and kiwis to throw in a fruit salad, and preparing a medley of fall vegetables for a mash. Baked apples just out of the oven sat steaming on the large wood-slab table alongside a bowl of leafy greens. A collection of cutlery, cups and mismatched plates sat in between. A mixture of strangers and old friends, including a pirate-radio host, a playwright, several poets and assorted looky-loos in search of conversation and a free meal, engaged in conversation over cooking until dinner was served, a little past eight.
"I'm happy to announce all the food at tonight's meal was salvaged," said A New World In Our Hearts member Thadeaus Umpster. "It was either donated by stores before it was disposed of, or…" he paused pregnantly, "…reclaimed shortly thereafter." Umpster's oblique description of Dumpster diving, or collecting food from grocery stores, bakeries and other businesses after it's been thrown out, drew laughter from the crowd. This free, family-style community dinner better known as Grub occurs on the first and third Sundays of every month and and is one of several initiatives In Our Hearts oversees, including The Brooklyn Free Store.
An active collective since 2005, In Our Hearts describes itself as "a New York-based anarchist network made up of autonomous collectives, projects and individuals who share the goal of building a culture of resistance in the city and beyond" in its manifesto. Some intentional ambiguity surrounds In Our Hearts–anarchist organizations tend to shy away from overexposure and attendance lists–but the group has a core membership scattered throughout Brooklyn, and then many fans and loose affiliates around the borough and the country. In Our Hearts has more than 3,000 MySpace fans and their Facebook group is about 350 members strong. Still, their publicly posted information raises as many questions as it answers. For starters: What exactly are they resisting? And how?
"It's about bringing the confidence back to the people which capitalism takes [away]," said Caio Juca at a recent In Our Hearts discussion. In one member's living room, visitors sat in a circle as Juca, a member of Brazil's Ativismo ABC anarchist collective, discussed anarchist economics. He led a lively debate that touched on strategies for finding work, food and health care outside of capitalist institutions. Solutions such as community gardens and Dumpster diving for food and items to sell online were all weighed as viable options.
In this particular collective, anarchism is defined as turning a cold shoulder towards capitalism and consumerism rather than engaging in confrontational actions. That's not to say members of In Our Hearts haven't ever embraced militant aspects of anarchistic resistance, but at the moment, they're content to focus on community-building initiatives like Grub and their newest project, The Brooklyn Free Store.
Free stores are an anti-capitalist idea that dates back to at least to The Diggers, a radical underground theater group in 1960s San Francisco that advocated for a "Free City." In Our Hearts officially opened their free store in July on Walworth Street between DeKalb and Willoughby Avenues in Bed-Stuy on a plot of land that Umpster says the organization "reclaimed from the city." Made from fencing and plastic-tarp tenting, the free store is open daily and works under the premise of "share what you can, take what you like." The inventory is always revolving, but mostly consists of clothing, books, movies, appliances and furniture. It also serves as a meeting place for In Our Hearts' events, classes and workshops, including regularly scheduled film screenings on Thursday nights at 8pm.
Anyone can give or take items from the store–like the television and full-size mattress collected by an elated man last Thursday, who couldn't thank Umpster enough for the Free Store's existence, as he carted his goods away in the back of a van. The happy shopper said he intended to put them in his daughter's bedroom when he got back home. [Ed. Note: Let's hope it was bed-bug free.]
"These are things that are practical and positive," Umpster said, commenting on the collective's efforts to promote alternative, anarchistic models for living in Brooklyn and beyond. "We don't need to reach everybody. We just need to reach enough people so they can reach other people."
Jane - October 14th, 2010
Just so you know, the person going by the name Thadeaus Umpster is actually named Dennis Burke, and he has a history of perpetrating verbal abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse in his intimate relationships. Women tempted to get involved in the good work that the Brooklyn Free Store is doing should be aware.
http://thadeaus.wordpress.com/thadeaus-history/
Fedup - October 14th, 2010
This will work until everyone gets tired of the fact that there are more takers than makers.
Meg - October 14th, 2010
It does work! Everyone always thinks that things like Grub and the Free Store won't work because people will take advantage, but I have been continually surprised by the fact that the people who only take are significantly outweighed by those who give more than they take so everything tends to balance out.
I think it's a great idea, and I think it's great to get away from so much consumerism. Sorry for my pessimism. I guess what I think is more accurate is to say that it doesn't work on a large scale. (Too many union members, etc., used to getting something for nothing. 45% of households in this country receive a SUBSIDY from the govt.)
On a local level, it's great to see it work, but to me, it's more of a charity then a viable long term form of commerce that has any scale.
Dana - October 15th, 2010
Fedup,
This really has nothing to do with charity. Have you seen it in person? This is an example of gift economy or mutual aid. Though not for long periods of time, there are examples of those models working on a large scale.
Dana,
I'd love to hear some examples of that. I am being sincere, I am open-minded. I have a graduate degree in economics, and I spend a lot of time reading about different systems, with the goal of the greatest good for the greatest number of people, over the greatest period of time. I'd love to hear about some of the larger scale examples, I guess the ones that have been around for the longest, if you could point me to some. It runs counter to a lot that I have read and experienced, but I would research with an open mind.
I don't want to pollute the comment section here of debase good press for people being generous. I am researching it. I'll tell you that I am a libertarian. There are some similar tenets, yet some diametrically opposed to this. I find this a little utopian. In my research so far, I have only found very small groups that did this or do this…small, small societies…and I have found others, where this is a small part of what they do. I think that this quote says a lot:
"[edit] Mauss
Sociologist Marcel Mauss argues a different position, that gifts entail obligation and are never 'free'. According to Mauss, while it is easy to romanticize a gift economy, humans do not always wish to be enmeshed in a web of obligation. Mauss wrote, "The gift not yet repaid debases the man who accepts it,"[31] a lesson certainly not lost on the young person seeking independence who decides not to accept more money or gifts from his or her parents.[32] And as Hyde writes, "There are times when we want to be aliens and strangers."[33] We like to be able to go to the corner store, buy a can of soup, and not have to let the store clerk into our affairs or vice versa. We like to travel on an airplane without worrying about whether we would personally get along with the pilot. A gift creates a "feeling bond." Commodity exchange does not.[34]"
I am glad we can have this discussion here. I don't have a degree in anything and this isn't my field of expertise, so excuse me if I quote some examples directly from wikipedia.
"The anarchist collectives formed during the Spanish Civil War are the most famous example of an anarchist economy operating on a large scale. The collectives were formed under the influence of the anarcho-syndicalist union the CNT in rural and urban areas and successfully practised Workers' self-management and Collectivist anarchism for a number of years in extremely difficult economic and political circumstances." – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_economics
"In place of a market, anarcho-communists, such as those who inhabited some Spanish villages in the 1930s, support a currency-less gift economy where goods and services are produced by workers and distributed in community stores where everyone (including the workers who produced them) is essentially entitled to consume whatever they want or need as "payment" for their production of goods and services." – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy
That page also lists other non-western indigenous example where gift economies prevailed over long periods of time and for a large populations. Including cultures based in what is now the Pacific North West of the U.S., Papua New Guinea, North Western Mexico and the Pacific islands.
None of those are large economies. I guess it depends on what you call large. I like it and I think it's nice, but I respectfully maintain that this is more or less charity. I think that you'd find that there are people who give, and don't take in return, and vice-versa. I would guess that you are either a net giver or net taker, there are probably precious few that do both in any reasonable measure. So it amounts to a transer from the haves to the have nots. That's great. I just don't think this amounts to a serious medium for commerce.
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1981 Gold Sovereign Proof Set In 1981, the Royal Mint issued an unusual gold coin proof set. It contained a gold five pound coins, gold sovereigns, silver proof crown commemorating the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles to Princess Diana, and six minor coins. The previous occasion on which a British proof set was issued with a mixture of gold and other coins was in 1911 for the Coronation of George V.
The Nine Coins The nine coins we refer to are the five pounds, gold sovereign, silver proof crown of 25 pence, and six base metal coins, 50 pence, 10 pence, 5 pence, 2 pence, penny, and halfpenny.


While Redmond's business parks might look benign from the outside, those subdued exteriors often belie the fascinating work going on inside. Microvision is working on laser projection technology, for example, while SpaceX's local contingent contributes to the company's migrate-to-Mars mission and Helion Energy pursues nuclear fusion.
And now a new player has arrived, determined to transform commercial aviation.
MagniX was founded on Australia's Gold Coast in 2009 as a research and development lab for electronic propulsion. Around 18 months ago, the team developed a prototype for a motor that was able to produce 350 horsepower in a 110-pound package, prompting a pivot toward aerospace. Last week, the company officially opened its new Redmond headquarters.
The company currently employs 17 people in the new Redmond office and testing facility, in which the company's 350 horsepower motor was on display when Built In Seattle visited recently. Ganzarski said he plans to grow the company's local headcount to as many as 30 within the next few months.
Because magniX is building a new kind of motor, it must also build its own software and power electronics, working with a specific set of materials, a proprietary motor design and a proprietary liquid cooling system. In addition to its 350 horsepower motor, the company recently began building a 750 horsepower version and plans to test both in three separate test flights by the end of the year.
"We're actually going to fly a full-sized aircraft purely on electric power, without a gas-powered backup," Ganzarski said.
Interestingly, magniX is fully funded by an anonymous owner, which Ganzarski said allows his team to focus on the task of putting electric motors in commercial aircraft — without being distracted by side projects to prove its technology to potential investors.
Ganzarski is bullish about the electric motor's long-term potential to transform the aerospace industry and our local communities, and his enthusiasm is infectious. According to magniX, the startup's electric motor has innumerable advantages over the gas-guzzling engines we currently fly on: Aviation currently accounts for three percent of all carbon emissions in the United States; electric motors run much more quietly than their fossil-fueled predecessors. What's more, magniX claims its electric motors can offer savings of 70 to 80 percent over traditional engines — making flying not just cleaner, but cheaper too.
Ganzarski said batteries are the main limiting factor facing electric motors in aerospace, with major improvements needed in weight and power capacity.
While magniX waits for battery technology to improve, it plans to begin installing its electric engines in smaller commercial aircraft — capable of carrying up to ten passengers — which travel 200 miles or less.
The possibility of significantly cheaper, quieter and more environmentally friendly short flights also has the promise to transform certain communities. Ganzarski points to the example of Ellensburg, Washington, a two-hour drive from Seattle over the Cascade mountain range.
In other words: a two-hour drive suddenly becomes a 50-minute flight — less time than many Puget Sound commuters spend in their cars each day — for around the cost of a bus ticket.


Imagine going on a road trip that expands several cities with that one singular destination in mind. You get back home and someone asks you: So how was it?
Can you imagine being at a loss for words?
You have done a lot of traveling only to get home and realize that you could have visited your Aunt whom you haven't seen in years, checked out some sites, went to the beach, visited some museums, attended a festival, etc.
This is how we tend to live our lives when we put so much of our focus on our idea of the GRAND PURPOSE. Trust me the older you become the more disappointed you find yourself when you feel as though you don't know your purpose in life. (It's quite embarrassing I'm guessing.) Years ago I had this dream in which I was given some wise advice: Don't run walk. If you run you may miss something.
Using that same example with the road trip. Yes, you could have done all those things and had so much to share about this experience but it's rare that we realize how much we have gained along the way like: Patience, Commitment, Confidence, Charity, Faith, Endurance, etc. These are the traits we would have recognized we gained and/or strengthened if we were present in the moment.
In life I encourage you to roll down your windows, take in the air and enjoy the ride. I believe if we focus on the process and let go of our attachment to the GRAND PURPOSE we will find our purpose in living one day/moment at a time.
At the start of the day ask: What is my purpose today?
While on our way to the GRAND PURPOSE let's try to be present in the moment and recognize our opportunities to strengthen our: Patience, Commitment, Confidence, Charity, Faith, Endurance, etc.


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Ashley Young arrives at Inter Milan training ground to seal transfer from Man Utd
The former England international is joining Antonio Conte's men after expressing a desire for a new challenge in Serie A, where the Nerazzurri are battling Juventus for the title
Alex RichardsAssistant Sport Editor
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Ashley Young has arrived at Inter Milan's medical centre to seal his move from Manchester United.
The United defender touched down in Italy on Friday morning at Milan Malpensa Airport to finalise his transfer to the Serie A giants.
Young, whose contract at Old Trafford was set to expire in the summer, had told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he was keen to accept a move to the Nerazzurri.
United chiefs subsequently agreed to accept a £1.3million deal for the ex-England man.
Young is due to sign an 18-month deal at San Siro, after Inter boss Antonio Conte had made him a target to enhance his side's Serie A challenge.
Inter, who haven't won the Italian title since 2010, have emerged as Juventus' biggest challengers under the ex-Chelsea boss this term.
Arrival of Ashley Young at CONI for sport fitness (Image: PA Images)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explains Man Utd's Ashley Young transfer decision
Transfer news LIVE: Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal latest plus Sandro Tonali updates
A switch to Inter will see Young team up once more with ex-United striker Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez - currently on loan at Inter from the Premier League side.
"It's my first time in Milan," Young told reporters, as he prepared to undergo his medical.
If all runs smoothly, he could even make his debut against Lecce on Sunday.
(Image: PA Images)
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he understands the player's decision - despite his role as United captain.
"Well, to be fair, I think it was for Ashley, you know, he is 35 in the summer and, if he gets a two-year contract somewhere, I think it's up to him to take that," Solskjaer told MUTV . "We weren't ready to offer that.
"He's been a good servant for the club. He's been captain and he's won trophies, leagues, cups, but we've got players coming through.
"So it was time now, then. When Ashley's head and mindset was on 'yeah, I want to try this', why not do it now?"
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San Siro Inc.
Lega Calcio Serie A
Chelsea board issue demands to under-fire boss Frank Lampard amid mounting pressure
Frank LampardFrank Lampard is under mounting pressure as Chelsea manager and the Blues board expect the club legend to steer his side to a top-four finish


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Must own a personal vehicle and have a valid driver's license to fulfill the duties required of the sales job.
Familiarity with forecast software (Sales Force) & traffic systems (Wide Orbit).
Knowledge of Nielsen ratings/ shares.


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CMU International Research Team Published on the High-Impact Journal Cell, with Taiwan's National Bird "Formosan Magpie" Honorably Selected as the Cover
An international research team led by China Medical University (CMU) investigated the mystery and evolution of bird's flight feathers from different science perspective. Their research finding was published in the high-impact journal Cell, with Taiwan's national bird "Formosan Magpie" selected as the cover of the journal that brings Taiwan to the world academic stage.
"This is the first time Formosan Magpie appears on the international journal. It is the pride of Taiwan." said President Mien-Chie Hung happily in the press conference.
CMU Center of Excellence for Integrative Stem Cell organized a cross-disciplinary research team to explore feathers from different aspects, including the biophysical characteristics of feathers and the basic molecular biology of stem cell formation. "The multi-level modular structure of feathers enables birds to adapt to the environmental challenges during evolution. The elasticity of the modular structure also allow different species of birds to develop specialized feathers with different functions depending on the body part." said CMU Professor Wen-Tau Juan.
To probe into the origin of feathers' complex structure, the research team also analyze an amber fossil that is recently discovered in Myanmar. The amber preserves delicate three-dimensional structure that wasn't being found before. CMU's research team discovered that the ancient feathers possess similar basic structure but with more primitive characteristics. "We learned how skin turn into feathers, how feathers transform into various structures of down feather, contour feather, flight feather, and moreover, how flight feathers adjust to accommodate the living environment. We found that it is the feathers' adaptable modular structure that made birds successfully fit in different environment", explained Academician Cheng-Ming Chuong.
Dr. Shih-Chieh Hung, the Director of Center of Excellence for Integrative Stem Cell, added "The structure of feathers is an inspiration to future innovative biomimetic applications. The invention of composites may help in building light but firm unscrewed vehicles, durable and elastic wind turbine, better medical implants, and prosthetic devices."
In the future, CMU research team will focus on both basics and applications in the research. Furthermore, explore the principle of biomaterial structures inspired by nature, and the application in the design of biomimetic materials. The team will also expand their research in the area of molecular signalling, in order to investigate how stem cell in hair follicles is guided to construct complex biological structure.
Taiwan's national bird "Formosan Magpie" selected as the cover of Cell
CMU Center of Excellence for Integrative Stem Cell


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Super is the answer: REIA
The Real Estate Institute of Australia is calling on the government to allow first home buyers to use their superannuation to buy a home.
The proposal, which was also floated by Later Economics chief executive Nicholas Gruen at last week's tax forum, has already been implemented in Canada to great success.
"With the number of first home buyers participating in the housing market declining considerably over the past two years, it is crucial that we look at ways to assist this group to enter the market," REIA acting president Pamela Bennett said.
"There is proof that the scheme is working in Canada and we should be drawing on this success to assist first home buyers in Australia."
The Canadian Home Buyer's Plan has been in operation since 1992 and allows first home buyers to withdraw up to 25,000 Canadian dollars from their retirement savings plan to purchase or build a home.
The scheme has proven popular, with nearly 1.4 million Canadians withdrawing money from their retirement savings to participate in the plan between 1992 and 2004.
During this period, over 12 per cent of first home buyers aged 25 to 44 used the scheme.
In Australia, the average age of first home buyers is in the early 30s. 55 per cent of recent first home buyers were aged 18-29 years and 34 per cent were 30-39 years.
"There has been some speculation that first home buyers in Australia would not have enough in their superannuation for the deposit on a home. However, in 2007 the median superannuation balance for those who were 25-34 was $28,999 and $63,600 for Australians aged between 35-44," she said.
It is also important to note that the Canadian scheme does not disadvantage the retirement plans of first home buyers. Under the plan, funds withdrawn from retirement savings need to be repaid over a 15 year period so as not to impact the ability to enjoy a comfortable retirement.
"The Canadian Home Buyer's Plan is the perfect example of this proposal in action and REIA would like to see it implemented in Australia as a solution to overcome the problems faced by first home buyers."
Chinese apartment sales dry up as Beijing restrictions take hold