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Baron Wolman, Famed Rolling Stone Photographer, Dead at 83
November 3, 2020 Easy Guitar song	0 Comments
Photographer Baron Wolman, who took some of the earliest and most iconic images of rock & rollers during his stint as Rolling Stone's first staff photographer, died Monday night at age 83. Wolman's rep, Dianne Duenzl, confirmed the photographer's death to Rolling Stone. Wolman had recently been diagnosed with ALS, the nervous-system disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"It is with a sad heart that we announce the passing of Baron Wolman on November 2, 2020," Duenzl said in a statement. "Baron died peacefully at the age of 83, after a battle with ALS. Baron's pictures gave us a rare, comprehensive, and accurate reflection of that time executed by a gifted artist whose visual intelligence is unsurpassed."
"Sad to say I'm now in the final sprint to the end," Wolman wrote on Facebook on October 4th. "I go forward with a huge amount of gratitude for the many blessings bestowed upon me (family, friends, travels and more), with no regrets and appreciation for how my photographs — my life's work — have been received."
During his three years at Rolling Stone, between 1967 and 1970, Wolman caught the rise of rock & roll as few had during the time: an open-mouthed Jimi Hendrix attacking his guitar at the Fillmore West (a "money shot," Wolman called it), Janis Joplin relaxing at home with her cat, Smokey Robinson adjusting the do-rag he wore before shows to keep his hair in place, Grace Slick ironically wearing a Girl Scout uniform, Frank Zappa sitting atop a tractor at a construction site, and Jerry Garcia flashing his missing, chopped-off finger for the first time publicly.
"Everybody was approachable and appreciative in those days," Wolman told Rolling Stone in 2011. "It was never difficult. We'd sit around and talk and I'd take pictures. There were a lot of changes going on, and people would show it in the way they put themselves together — long hair, granny glasses. For a photographer, it was a fucking gold mine."
The affable and strait-laced Wolman would always confess to being the last person anyone would have expected to have been in that position. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, on June 25th, 1937, he grew up listening to his mother's classical and show-tunes records. Wolman took to photography as a way to escape what he once called the tumult of his early home life. "I picked up that camera and looked through the lens, and I was able to quiet the chaos down and make sense of what I saw," he said in 2011. "I was selecting the moments that had meaning for me. I knew it was something I'd be doing for a long time."
At Northwestern University, he met a woman who extolled the glories of California. Before he moved there, though, Wolman volunteered for the Army, serving time in its counterintelligence program in Berlin, in the early Sixties. "I was a counterspy in Berlin, basically!" he said with a laugh in 2011. "I had a different name and dressed in civilian clothes. I didn't have to kill anybody or get shot at. I learned the wisdom that compulsory service on the part of young men and women to their country doesn't have to be military. You learn to give something back."
The Who and Sun Ra on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1968 and 1969, respectively.
Photographs by Baron Wolman
In Berlin, he took his first published photograph: a shot of the building of the Berlin Wall for the Columbus Dispatch, which paid him $50. "I thought, I'm getting paid for something I'm doing — I'm gonna be a photographer!'" he said in 2011. After his service, Wolman relocated to Los Angeles, where he produced ballet productions (his wife, Juliana, was a dancer) and shot publicity photos for his first music act, the Kingston Trio folk band.
But the air quality in Los Angeles bothered him and Juliana, and after 18 months, they headed north to San Francisco. While taking photos for Mills College in 1967, Wolman heard of an upcoming rock & roll conference at the school that was gathering together local legends like Jefferson Airplane, promoter Bill Graham, writer Ralph J. Gleason, and others.
As he prepared to shoot the event, Wolman met Gleason and RS founder Jann S. Wenner, who told him of their plans to start a serious, journalistically minded music and culture magazine. "Ralph knew of Baron. So when we were starting Rolling Stone, he said, 'You should meet this photographer,'" Wenner says. "Baron was perfect. I didn't want a photographer who was just going to go to shows and take photos from their seats. I wanted portraits with elegance and style, and Baron had that. He set the look for Rolling Stone."
Wolman jumped at the chance. "Jann famously said to me in April 1967, 'We're going to need a photographer. You wanna be our photographer?'" he said in 2019. "And the rest, as they say, is history. We'd sit around and decide to do a story, and they'd say, 'Go get pictures of this and that.'"
For the magazine's first issue, Wolman was sent to shoot the Grateful Dead, who'd just been busted for marijuana at their San Francisco group home in Haight-Ashbury. Since the magazine's offices were close to a bail-bonds office, Wolman shot some members of the band there, then captured the defiant Dead — fists raised, rifles brandished — on the stoop of their communal home after a press conference.
"Dead on the Steps." The Grateful Dead at 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco, October 1967.
© Baron Wolman
"Jann said, 'Make sure you get a group shot of them,'" Wolman said in 2011. "That was the hardest part. They didn't know me, and there was no magazine called Rolling Stone at the time. There wasn't anything to confirm that yes, this guy was legitimate. As they came out of the press conference, they were so high — on a natural high — over the message they were giving. I couldn't get them all together to pose in a group shot like a band. So on the stoop, you see them laughing and flipping the bird and this whole gun thing between Jerry and Pigpen. I was slightly worried they were going to do me bodily harm."
At 30, Wolman was older than most of the Rolling Stone staffers and preferred to watch NFL games and attend roller derby matches over getting stoned. "I knew that if I got high, I wouldn't be able to take pictures," he said in 2011. "There was no autofocus back then." But he adapted to the new music. "The transition from classical into rock & roll was pretty easy," he says. "The music got you high. I always felt that way. It did something to my brain and kept me going and made me smile."
As Wolman said in 2017, the first concert he shot for the magazine was a Who show at San Francisco's Cow Palace, in 1968, which turned into a transformative moment. "I didn't know what backstage was, I didn't know where I could be, I didn't know what I was allowed to do,' he says. "When I saw Townshend break his guitars, which was totally unexpected, it shocked me. Here he is destroying the thing he's playing music with. I didn't realize that was part of the show and they had more guitars. But moments like that were for me very important, central experiences."
"He was not a hippie, by any means," Wenner adds. "But he was a pro. And he liked the culture for some reason — what the musicians stood for and what it was all about."
That approach and his easygoing demeanor led Wolman into dressing rooms and hotel rooms, where he captured Pete Townshend at work, Jeff Beck practicing guitar, Steve Miller warming up before a show and a gaggle of groupies for a magazine portfolio. For Wolman, Miller was "college-educated and articulate and had interests beyond music," and Joplin was "a sorry soul in that she was so insecure and didn't believe in her own talent."
A naked man at Woodstock and Jimi Hendrix on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1969.
For the magazine's 1969 cover story on the Dead, Wolman took individual portraits of the band at an old Victorian house. When it came to Garcia's turn, the guitarist playfully held up his left hand, although Wolman at first didn't know why. "When I took that picture I didn't realize what I was seeing," he said. "He held his hand up like that, and I had no idea what he was showing me. When I was printing, I was trying to do the same thing with my hand, bending a finger one way or another. It wasn't until later that someone told me what the deal was. That's the first time he revealed so publicly and joyfully that he was missing a piece of his finger."
To Michael Lydon, one of the magazine's original editors, Wolman was "a regular guy, a serious professional photographer, and knew how to be friendly and put people at ease. The unguarded expressions he got were because the musicians were looking at a nice guy who was just chatting with them. His quiet excellence set the tone for the photography."
In 1969, Wolman attended and shot the Woodstock festival, and his image of a nude concertgoer in a local waterway made the cover. "I was so wired and so excited, and it was such an adrenaline rush because I'd never seen anything like this," he told RS in 2019. " I always tell people it was a disaster waiting to happen that didn't. That was one of the miracles of Woodstock: It could have been horrible, and it wasn't. We all really believed, 'Wow, we can all get along! And if we can get along, maybe the world can get along.'"
Wolman left RS a few years later. "I felt I was making the same photographs and different faces," he said in 2011. "It wasn't a challenge for me anymore. I thought, I understand this world and I'm having a good time, but there's a lot of other stuff going on out there.… There was so much about life I was curious about, and I wanted to get out there and find out. It became repetitive for me a little bit."
Wolman started a short-lived fashion-and-culture magazine (Rags), moved on to aviation photographer (he learned to fly), and started his own publishing house, Square Books. In 2000, he moved to Sante Fe, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 2011, he published The Rolling Stone Years, a hefty collection of his work for the magazine.
In a 2011 interview, Wolman said he regretted not being able to shoot the likes of Tom Petty, Joan Jett, and John Mellencamp. But he nonetheless felt he and Rolling Stone had made a valuable contribution to the perception of musicians. "We never saw pictures that reflected their humanity and what we knew about them and their lifestyle," Wolman said. "And it was fundamental to the mission of Rolling Stone to do that, to somehow reflect music as we experienced it rather than the business side."
Source by David Browne
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Crisis choices: Economic fundamentalism or economic realism?
Midweek Review
By DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA
Economics is not a hard science. There are no scientific axioms in economics that can be universally accepted. It all depends upon the economic paradigm or episteme one operates with and within.
Economic policy is a matter of choices. There is no one, single, correct answer that is self-evident. It all depends on where you are coming from and want to get to.
Unlike in the case of hard science, where the correct methodology applied to the data points you in a certain direction, in the case of economic policy the choices you make can take you into the minefield of civil war.
UNP-NOMICS, POHOTTU-NOMICS, JVP-NOMICS
In economics, the dogmatic rightwing liberal school of economic thought has never figured out what happened to the periods of Ceylonese/Sri Lankan history they applaud and approved of:
1. The UNP of the 1950s, which ended with the hartal of August 1953 and Sinhala Only 1956
2. The UNP of 1965-1970 which ended with the rise of the armed JVP and a two-thirds majority for the SLFP-led coalition;
3. The UNP of 1977-1988 which led to a massive Southern insurrection and the near-decapitation of the UNP (and had to be rescued by Premadasa through a shift to a very different economic paradigm);
4. The UNP of 2001-4 which ended with the Presidential ouster of the PM and the electoral victory for Mahinda Rajapaksa;
5. The UNP of 2015-2020, which ended with the electoral extinction of the UNP.
This is why I do not trust for a moment, the prescriptions of those who belong to that same school of economic thought and have made no public criticism of and rupture with the policies of those times.
When these successive experiments have ended in sociopolitical backlashes, it would be suicidal to approach the same doctors for the same diagnoses and prescriptions.
Sri Lanka has experienced twin disasters:
(A) Statist closed economy/low growth (SLFP 1970-1977, SLPP 2019-) and
(B) Open economy/rapid growth/trickle-down/free-market fundamentalism (UNP)
The JVP-NPP's discourse and printed proposals so far, take as a starting point the denunciation and rejection of the Open Economy of 1977. That alone tells us that they cannot offer a solution to the present crisis or a better future for Sri Lanka. the JVP's rejection of the Open economy instead of a progressive reform OF the Open Economy will lead us to the kind of abyss that has given socialism a bad name as an economic system.
Thus, three options we are offered, namely the current regime's policy which is a throwback to that of Sirimavo Bandaranaike -NM Perera, the Ranilist UNP's economic policy –summed up in the 'IMF First!' approach—and the JVP's rejection of the Open economy, are all disastrous.
PROGRESSIVE PRAGMATISM
Based upon empirical evidence, it is only the paradigm of President Premadasa that gave us high growth including rapid industrialization, high inflows of foreign investment, a lively stock market and zero-socioeconomic polarization/backlash, because it also witnessed rapid decline in inequality. I do not trust anyone who fails to recognize that fact.
That is also why I insist that any discussion of 'exits' from the crisis and an economic strategy for Sri Lanka's future, takes as a start-line, the economic paradigm and policies of President Premadasa.
It is only that combination of 'growth with equity'; of state-led social and economic intervention and an Open Economy, that can avoid social instability and ensure a better future. That is what Sri Lankan Social Democracy looks like.
Thanks to the Rajapaksa regime's policies we are poised on a volcano. The wrong policy prescription will make the coming explosion far worse than it needs to be. The problem is not the IMF as such. The problem is the austerity programme that will be presented as a solution either by the IMF or this Government or its successor.
This country has seen far too much turmoil and bloodshed, and I have been in and around too much of it, that I tend to fight against anything that would cause more of it.
In the context of a grave and deepening economic crisis, if we are to avoid further social and political polarization, the political leaders and policy-makers, current and aspirant, must look for the Middle Path or Golden Mean, because this provides and has almost always provided the best solution.
The economic paradigm of John Maynard Keynes is an excellent example of a middle path between free-market capitalism and state-controlled communism. Keynesianism was the animating spirit of the Beveridge plan and the welfare state erected by the Labour government of postwar Britain.
If we move into the realm of economic reform at times of grave crises we have President Roosevelt's New Deal, which was a middle path between unreconstructed capitalism and Marxist socialism. While many countries were succumbing to the lures of either Fascism or Communism, the Rooseveltian New Deal saved US democracy from being rent by civil conflict and class struggle during the great depression.
If anyone thinks that these are old-fashioned ideas, I would suggest he/she reads the writings of Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, not to mention Jeffrey Sachs and Robert Reich. In the USA today, the economics of President Joe Biden represents, in his own words, a return to the philosophy of Roosevelt's New Deal.
How has the Middle Path in economics and especially in the context of economic crisis, worked in Sri Lanka? At a time of devastation through civil wars and interventions, Presidential candidate Ranasinghe Premadasa deliberately struck a neo-Rooseveltian chord, entitling his 1988 election manifesto "A New Vision and A New Deal." In his policy practice he eschewed the twin extremes of, on the one hand, the establishment thinking of rapid growth which awaits 'trickle-down', and on the other hand, and on the other, the crassly egalitarian socialism that the JVP stood for.
The Premadasa paradigm was of growth with equity, which succeeded in reviving growth rapidly, attracting foreign investment, rejuvenating the stock market while simultaneously—not sequentially—reducing inequality through a plethora of programmes such as Janasaviya, free school uniforms, free mid-day meal, etc.
In a recent speech on the ongoing economic crisis, Prof Howard Nicholas of the ISS at the Hague, and the University of Rotterdam, emphasized that industrialization was the only solution, and pointed to President Premadasa as the only leader who actually embarked successfully on that path.
Premadasa consistently took a Middle Path and did so creatively. In 1992, he addressed the problem of loss-making plantations neither by maintaining the status-quo nor by selling the plantations to foreign corporates as President CBK did in 1995. Instead, Premadasa granted five-year renewable management contracts to Sri Lankan private companies.
Another example of the Middle Path in economics is that of East Asia, namely Japan, China, South Korea and ASEAN, most notably Vietnam. Theirs was not the path of relying excessively on the free-market to work its magic, as in the West. The role of the state is much greater in the East Asian model than in the neoliberal one. Therefore, the formulae of Lankan neoliberals, to slash state expenditure, has to be looked at more closely and with greater discrimination.
At a moment when the JVP's Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the FSP's Pubudu Jagoda and Duminda Nagamuwa have attacked the IMF as a solution, and given that these parties drive a powerful union movement, I renew my call for an Economic Roundtable to arrive through consultation at a broad consensus, based on mutual trade-offs, so as to manage the economic crisis.
The country must go to the IMF only having agreed on the parameters and red-lines as pertains to austerity measures which will impact upon the working people and the poor.
Where should the cutbacks be? Where should they land? Those are choices. Who will make them and for what reasons? To put it bluntly, who should carry the burden of the crisis and the so-called solution? Is it the 99% of the citizenry or the 1%?
There are no axiomatic solutions. Take the issue of State-Owned Enterprises. From the neoliberal right to the regime's tough Ministers such as Dilum Amunugama, there is an advocacy of privatisation, but is this the only solution? The unions can help identify where the cuts can come.
Any attempt at slashing public expenditure without consultation and the coming storm will turn into a tornado. This in turn could provide the opportunity for the installation of military rule.
Social Democracy is a Middle Path between Right and Left, consisting of a synthesis of ideas of Right and Left.
To sum up, I would use the markers 'Keynes', 'Roosevelt', 'Social Democracy', 'East Asian model' and 'Premadasa' to demarcate the third space in economics and economic policy; the Middle Path which Sri Lanka should follow.
The Middle Path or Golden Mean is the only approach that will get the citizenry on board the adjustments that are necessary in the context of this crisis. It is a Middle Path between what the minimum that economic policy planners, local or foreign, propose as imperative reforms, and the maximum that the citizens, starting with the working people and the poor, are willing to accept. No economy reforms deemed as fundamental by policy wonks, will be implementable without the consent of the citizens. That consent has to be obtained by the willingness of policy-makers to come halfway.
What the economic fundamentalists utterly fail to realize is that for any policy package or measure to work, the people, starting with those are directly affected, are willing to co-own those reforms. They will do so only if they have been consulted and have participated in the design of policy. Once they feel they co-own the policy they will participate with some degree of voluntary discipline.
A leader with the track record of the most spectacular development success in rapid growth with simultaneous equity, explained the fundamental approach with the following words:
"We as a government cannot claim credit for this. It was and is a people's effort. We mobilised. We assisted. But it was …the people who participated with unprecedented commitment. Why is that? Why are the people so keen to participate? The answer is very simple. It is because they are consulted. It is because they are involved. It is because they benefit directly."
(President Premadasa's, Speech at Gam Udawa 91 exhibition, Kamburupitiya, July 23rd 1991)
Contrary to the approach of neoliberal economic fundamentalists, those are the three practical criteria that any successful economic policy programme must meet: Are the people consulted? Are they involved? Do they benefit directly? These are the criteria that any programme of adjustment and stabilisation, be it by the IMF or the Government – this one or its successor—must meet if a sociopolitical explosion is not to result.
Stillborn in South Asia
Is jealousy outward sign of social capital deficit and diluting social ethic?
Post-war foreign relations: A diplomatic quagmire for Lanka
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flanked by PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chinese FM Wang Yi launch Sri Lanka China Friendship Sailing Cup at the Port City last Sunday.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Chinese Ambassador to Colombo Qi Zhenhong seems quite confident of Sri Lanka's capacity to overcome the current economic turmoil the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is experiencing.
The top Chinese envoy, at an informal meeting with a selected group of print media journalists on Sunday (09), soon after the departure of Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, asserted that the crisis was temporary. Ambassador Qi Zhenhong declared that as Sri Lanka had overcome far bigger challenges the country wouldn't be overwhelmed by the current challenge in debt servicing. The meet took place at the King Emperor Suite of the Galle Face Hotel
Wang departed following high level political talks with the Sri Lankan leadership. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chinese FM Wang inaugurated the Sri Lanka-China Sailing Cup 2022 at the Port City to celebrate the 65th anniversary of China and Sri Lanka diplomatic relations and the 70th anniversary of the Rubber-Rice pact. Interestingly, former Premier and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP, was among the invitees. Wickremesinghe, whose government delayed the Port City project by about one and half years, sat next to Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, who returned from an official visit to Seoul the previous day.
Is Ambassador Qi Zhenhong right in his assessment? Had there been far bigger crises in the recent past that threatened to overwhelm Sri Lanka? Perhaps Ambassador Qi Zhenhong is right in his appraisal. Maybe, he is not. Having joined the Chinese Foreign Service in 1988, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong took over the Chinese diplomatic mission in Colombo about a year ago at the height of Covid-19 eruption.
Amidst a simmering row with the Sri Lankan government over the rejection of an allegedly contaminated Chinese carbonic fertiliser consignment, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong undertook a three-day visit (Dec 15-17, 2021) to the Jaffna peninsula.
Colombo-based The Hindu correspondent, Meera Srinivasan, in a story dated Dec 26, 2021, headlined 'Chinese Ambassador's visit to Jaffna sparks concern, commentary in Sri Lanka', described the visit as an intensification of geopolitical contest between India and China. Qi Zhenhong underscored China's right to engage people in any part of Sri Lanka. Responding to media at the Emperor's Suite, Qi Zhenhong pointed out: "Jaffna is in the northern part of Sri Lanka, not south of any other country."
Ambassador Qi visited the Jaffna public library and the Adam's Bridge, a row of limestone shoals across the narrow Palk Strait between Mannar and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.
The Ambassador visited a seafood factory in Mannar district, built with Chinese investment, and a sea cucumber farm in Jaffna.
The Chinese entry into Sri Lanka and the gradual expansion of its role here should be examined against the backdrop of Indian-funded terrorism project that destabilised the entire country. The Sri Lanka Army couldn't have withstood the terrorist firepower if not for military assistance provided by China, Pakistan, Russia and Israel during the early stages of the conflict. Having paid a heavy price for destabilising its smaller neighbour, India allowed the annihilation of separatist Tamil conventional military capability in 2009. The eradication of terrorism has paved the way for geopolitical contest between the two Asian nuclear powers here. Both China and India seemed confident in pursuing their agendas as the cash-strapped SLPP government struggled on multiple fronts. The deterioration of Sri Lanka's economy as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic delivering a devastating blow to its once vibrant tourism industry and expatriate worker remittances, (both raked in huge amounts of foreign exchange), as well as waste, corruption and mismanagement at every level appeared to have facilitated anti-Sri Lanka foreign projects much to the dismay of the vast majority of people. Sri Lanka seems to be at the mercy of foreign powers.
Superpower politics
Chinese and Indian investments as well as relations with political parties here cannot be discussed leaving out the ongoing battle between China and the US-led grouping. India is part of the latter. South Korea is also in that group though it has so far refrained from joining the four-nation 'Quad' comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia. Post-war Sri Lanka is in a dicey situation. In spite of overcoming terrorism 12 years ago, Sri Lanka is under tremendous pressure from both parties as each seeks investment opportunities advantageous to them.
Recently, Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda expressed concerns over China and India seeking to invest in the Point Pedro fisheries harbour. Devananda, the leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), one of the smaller terrorist groups, that took to the democratic path long before the LTTE terror mechanism was annihilated and primarily active in the Northern region vowed not to allow China to exploit the Northern population. Obviously Devananda is playing politics. The Fisheries Minister cannot take a view contrary to that of the Rajapaksas.
Pathfinder, an organisation founded by Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in New Delhi, Milinda Moragoda, in its latest report titled 'Sri Lanka has no room to maneuver' carried in the January 10 edition of The Island warns of a catastrophe unless the government adopts remedial measures, immediately. While appreciating the arrangement Sri Lanka has reached with India to meet immediate challenges, Pathfinder recommended (i) restructuring of external debt (ii) an arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (iii) mobilisation of 'bridging finance' to meet the external financing gap up to June 2022.
Recent US and Indian investments in the energy sector should be viewed against the backdrop of much economically weakened Sri Lanka. The controversial energy deals with US-based New Fortress Energy, and Indian Oil Corporation Limited finalised on Sept 17, 2021 and January 5, 2022, respectively, generated much public interest. The latter was finalised just days before the Chinese Foreign Minister's visit. Both agreements have been challenged in the Supreme Court. The SC is in the process of hearing several petitions against the US energy deal whereas Ven. Wakmulle Uditha Thera of Nayigala Raja Mahaviharaya, Agrahara, Weeraketiya, filed a fundamental rights petition against the agreement on Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm. The Ven. Thera is believed to be acting on behalf of the JVP, the only party to move court against both the US and Indian investments.
Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila, who along with Cabinet colleagues, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Wimal Weerawansa moved SC against US energy deal that came through the backdoor, in a booklet titled 'Regaining Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm' declared that he gave the 'strategic leadership' to the project. In spite of accusations of a sellout and betrayal by many quarters, including the Federation of National Organisations, led by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, which demanded a thorough investigation. Attorney-at-law Gammanpila defended the latest agreement. The booklet released by the Energy Ministry contained a letter dated July 29, 1987 signed by the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that dealt with the Trincomalee oil tank farm, President JRJ's response, an agreement finalised on Feb 7, 2003, during Ranil Wickremesinghe's premiership, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on economic projects signed in 2017 also during Wickremesinghe's premiership. What really surprised the public was that though the Energy Ministry compared the 2017 MoU with the recently finalised agreement, the ministry quite conveniently left the January 5 agreement out of the booklet. The ministry may claim that the agreement couldn't be included as at the time of the releasing of the booklet, it hadn't been signed. Perhaps, the printing of the booklet should have been delayed till the finalisation of the agreement.
Declaring the project received political guidance from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Energy Ministry revealed the identities of the two negotiating teams. Accordingly, the Sri Lankan delegation comprised Lalith Vidanagamage, Advisor, Energy Ministry, Buddhika Madihahewa, Managing Director, CPC, Mrs. Hasitha Paragahagoda, Legal Officer, Energy Ministry and Nalin Beligaswatta, Research Officer, Energy Ministry.
The Energy Ministry also named the Indian negotiating team. Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K. Jacob has led the Indian delegation that included Dr. Rakesh Pandey, Head of Commerce, Indian HC, Ms Irina Thakur, First Secretary, Commerce and Cultural Affairs and Manoj Gupta, Managing Director, LIOC.
The Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm comprised two sections (i) Lower Tank Farm and (ii) Upper Tank Farm spread over 827 acres of land.
One cannot forget the circumstances India forced the Indo-Lanka Accord on the latter. That agreement finalised at the height of the US-Soviet cold war encompassed the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm. Today, US-India relations have reached zenith whereas at the time of the Indo-Lanka Accord India was seen as being much closer to the Soviet Union and constantly feared the US using Sri Lanka as a platform to destabilise the country. The letters exchanged between Rajiv Gandhi and JRJ agreed on the restoration and operation of the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm as a joint venture. With the latest agreement, India has consolidated its position in the strategic port city of Trincomalee close on the heels of politically influential Adani Group's investment at the Colombo port. Gujarat-headquartered company signed a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) agreement with Sri Lanka's largest listed company John Keells Holdings and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to jointly develop the Colombo West International Container Terminal (CWICT) at the Colombo Port, situated amidst one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. China has secured a terminal of its own during the previous Rajapaksa administration as the war was raging with hardly any other investor showing interest and during the Yahapalana administration won a 99-year lease on the Hambantota port. Controversy surrounds the Hambantota port deal, too. Arjuna Ranatunga, who had served as the Ports and Shipping Minister at that time had to give up the portfolio as he didn't agree with the terms. The then President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe brought in SLFPer Mahinda Samarasinghe as the Ports and Shipping Minister to put the finishing touches to it. Having finalised the agreement in 2017, Samarasinghe switched his allegiance to the SLFP in the run-up to the last parliamentary election in August 2020. The one-time UNPer recently gave up his Kalutara District parliamentary seat to receive appointment as Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Washington.
Former PM Wickremesinghe, FM Prof. Peiris, Minister Namal Rajapaksa and Chinese Ambassador to Colombo Qi Zhenhong at the launch of Sri Lanka China Friendship Sailing Cup at the Port City last Sunday (pics courtesy PM Media)
Wijeyadasa strikes discordant note
In spite of China and Sri Lanka enjoying excellent relations and the latter regularly referring to China as an all-weather friend, there had been a number of contentious issues. The Island had an opportunity to raise some of them with Ambassador Qi Zhenhong during last Sunday's meeting. Reference was made to accusations made by the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake as regards China taking advantage of Sri Lanka, dispute over contaminated carbonic fertiliser consignment that had to be settled by paying USD 6.7 mn to the Chinese firm concerned and SLPP lawmaker Wijeyadasa Rajapakse's fiery letter to the Chinese President Xi Jinping. There hadn't been a previous instance of a lawmaker writing to the Chinese leader through its Ambassador in Colombo. Ambassador Qi Zhenhong dismissed Rajapakse's concerns over China changing its strategy vis-a-vis Sri Lanka in the wake of the high profile 'One Belt One Road' (OBOR) project meant to improving connectivity and cooperation among multiple countries spread across the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe. One-time Justice Minister and former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) accused China of following an agenda intended to destroy Sri Lanka's relations with the US, the UK, India, Japan, Korea, Australia and in time to come Russia.
Lawmaker Rajapakse's stand cannot be examined without taking his call during the previous administration to rescind the Sri Lanka-China agreement on the Hambantota port through the intervention of the Parliament. That call was made in his capacity as a UNP Member of Parliament, whereas he wrote the January 3 dated letter as an SLPP lawmaker.
MP Rajapakse accused China of ruining Sri Lanka's economy to facilitate their project. The former Justice Minister seemed to have no issue with Quad members, the UK and Korea. Quad members never stood by Sri Lanka at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) whereas Western powers brazenly pursued a policy detriment to Sri Lanka. They either voted against Sri Lanka or skipped the vote as in the case of Japan regardless of the Comprehensive Partnership the two countries entered into in Oct 2015. Obviously, Japan lacked the political will to go against the US wishes at the Geneva HRC, whereas Seoul voted against Colombo. On the basis of the Geneva process, the Sri Lankan military is being targeted by the US and some of her allies as part of the overall campaign directed at Sri Lanka.
Regardless of Sri Lanka's close relations with China, the accusations made by MP Rajapakse cannot be dismissed lightly. The MP issued a warning over possible Chinese investments under the 'Selendiva' project, having questioned the investments on the Colombo Port, South Terminal, Coal-fired power plant complex at Norochcholai, International Airport at Mattala, Lotus Tower (Nelum Kuluna) in Colombo, Lotus Theatre (Nelum Pokuna) in Colombo, International Cricket Stadium at Suriyawewa and International Conference Hall in Hambantota. Alleging China created a debt trap, lawmaker Rajapakse said that he lost his portfolio during the Yahapalana administration as he opposed the Hambantota port deal. The copies of MP Rajapakse's explosive letter have been sent to the President, Prime Minister, Speaker, Most Venerable High Prelates, the Archbishop Colombo, Foreign Minister, Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka and Colombo-based High Commissioners and the Ambassadors of the other countries.
Can the SLPP government afford to ignore Wijeyadasa Rajapakse's actions, particularly against the backdrop of stripping Susil Premjayantha of his portfolio over criticism of the government? Similarly, can Ministers Vasudeva, Wimal and Udaya get away after having challenged their Cabinet colleagues over the US energy deal? The government needs to address these issues as the ruling coalition as well as other political parties represented in Parliament struggle to come to terms with a rapidly changing situation. Avoiding Chinese as well as Western moves and that of India seem a herculean task for Sri Lanka, trying to walk the diplomatic tightrope.
During the Yahapalana administration, the US pushed for three agreements, namely ACSA (Access and Cross Servicing Agreement), SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) and MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact. On the approval of President Sirisena, the government signed ACSA in August 2017 though the remaining agreements couldn't be finalised. No one can forget how Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe authorised one-sided CFA (Ceasefire Agreement) or the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo allowed the Singapore Sri Lanka Free Trade Pact. If those in power and the Opposition are genuinely interested in protecting national assets, they'll agree on a political mechanism to reach consensus on agreements with external powers/foreign parties.
What is so luring about John Steinbeck's The Pearl: A translator's view
Book: Dimuthuwa (A translation of The Pearl)
Translator: K. A. I Kalyanaratne
Publisher: Sarasavi
By K. A. I Kalyanaratne
Having studied Sinhala and English since my early schooling, I thought of rendering into Sinhala an English masterpiece. I knew that such an exercise would help not only test my comprehension in that contextual setting but also measure my capacity to reproduce the ideas in idiomatic Sinhala so that the reader would feel that the rendering was not foreign to him or her.
I did not want to estrange the local reader.
Translator's responsibilities
I began my search for a read-worthy book for that purpose. I came across a book, not so voluminous, I had attempted several times to render into Sinhala, without much success. I had given up all my previous attempts halfway upon realisation that the time was not opportune for me to undertake such a responsible task, for any writer has a responsibility by the society to uplift it to the best of one's ability, and retain the ingenuity of the original writer. I was also concerned about the sanctity of the language, the most sacred tool of its users. It means that any writer should be mindful of the correct idiomatic expressions of that language.
'THE PEARL'
Finally, I selected 'THE PEARL' by the American novelist and Nobel prize-winner John Steinbeck. Having read it a couple of times, I was familiar with its content. Considering the number of characters and the span of time involving the narration, many a writer treats The Pearl as a 'novella' or a 'novelette'. As the story is full of dramatic episodes, it is also referred to as a 'chilling-novella'. As Steibeck has himself expressed in his epigraph to the Pearl, he has re-told a Mexican folktale which relates a series of tragic events that unraveled with a scorpion biting Kino's son Coyotito.
In his inimitable style Steinbeck says
"In the town they tell the story of the great pearl – how it was found, and how it was lost again. They tell of Kino, the fisherman, and of his wife, Juana, and of the baby, Coyotito. And because the story has been told so often, it has taken root in every man's mind. And, as with all retold tales that are in people's hearts, there are only good and bad things and black and white things and good and evil things and no in-between anywhere.
If the story is a parable, perhaps everyone reads his or her own life into it. In any case, they say in the town that…"
" මෙ වෙසෙයි දිමුතුව ලද සැටිත්, ඒ යළි නැති වුණු සැටිත් පිළිබඳ පවත ඒ නියැරියෝ පවසති. එ මෙන් ම, ධීවර කීනෝත්, ඔහු ගේ බිරිය ජුවානාත්, ඔවුන් ගේ පුත් කොයෝතිතෝත් පිළිබඳ ව ඔවුහු පවසති. තව ද, මෙ පවත නෙ වර පවසනු ලැබ ඇති හෙයින්, ඒ සෑම අයකු ගේ ම සිත්හි මුල් බැස ගෙන ඇත. මිනිස් සිත්හි එල්බ ගත්, එ මෙන් ම, යළි යළිත් පැවැසුණු පවත්හි රඳා පවතිනුයේ යහඅයහ දේ පමණි. ක`ථ-සුදු දේ පමණි. සිරි-දුසිරි දේ පමණි. මෙ අතරැ වූ කිසිවක් කවර තැනෙක හෝ තිබෙනු නො හැකි යි.
මෙ පවත උපමා කතාවක් සේ සැලැකෙන්නේ නම්, සෑම අයකු ම ඔහුට සීමා වූ අරුතක් ඉන් උකහා ගනු ඇත. තමන් ගේ ම දිවි පෙවෙත ඊට කාවද්දනු ඇත. මෙ කවර අයුරු වුව ද එ නුවර වැසියෝ මෙ සේ පවසත්"
Dramatic End of The Pearl
The Kino's pearl of the world, incomparable in its beauty, radiance and size, around which Steinbeck spins the whole story with a few characters who in their peculiar contexts behave in self-centred ambitions and aspirations, ultimately meets its own playground, the big blue sea, in whose womb it was born. At last, when Kino realises that the pearl is evil, he throws it back to the sea. The humour, sarcasm and pathos, which Steinbeck aims to generate, is the last of such incidents he narrates when he writes:
"And Kino drew back his arm and flung the pearl with all his might. Kino and Juana watched it go, winking and glimmering under the setting sun. They saw the little splash in the distance, and they stood side by side watching the place for a long time.
"And the pearl settled into the lovely green water and dropped towards the bottom.
The waving branches of the algae called to it and beckoned to it. The lights on its surface were green and lovely. It settled down to the sand bottom among the fern-like plants. Above, the surface of water was a green mirror. And the pearl lay on the floor of the sea. A crab scampering over the bottom raised a little cloud of sand, and when it settled the pearl was gone.
And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared."
යළි තමා වෙත ඇදගත් අතින්, කිනෝ මු`ථ වැර යොදා, දිමුතුව මුහුදට විසි කෙළේ ය. අවරට යන හිරු ගේ හෙළියෙන් දිලෙමින් ද බැබැළෙමින් ද, එය ඈතට විසි වී යන අයුරු කිනෝ ද, ජුවානා ද හොඳින් බලා සිටියහ. එ ඈතින් දියට වැටී හට ගත් දිය කැළැඹුම දෙස ද බලා සිටි ඔවුහු, දිගු වේලාවක් එහි රැඳී සිටියහ.
දිමුතුව ද, ප‍්‍රසන්න නිල් පැහැති මුහුදුු දියෙහි තැන්පත් ව, මුහුදු පතුළට කිඳා බැස්සේ ය. එ විට මුහුදු පතුළෙහි වූ මුහුදු පැළෑටිවල
සසල වූ අතු පත් අත් වනමින් දිමුතුව කඳවා ගෙන ගියා සේ යි. මතු පිටට පතිත වූ ආලෝකයෙන් ඒ කොළ පැහැ ගැන් වී, ප‍්‍රසන්න වී තිබිණි. මීවන වන් පැළෑටි අතරින් ගොස්, පතුළේ වූ වැලි මත එය තැන්පත් විය. එ මත්තෙහි වූ මතුපිට දිය කඳ කොළ පැහැති කැටපතක් බඳු විය. එ දිමුතුව දැන් මුහුදු පතුළෙහි රැුඳී ඇත. එ පතුළෙහි ම, දුව පැන යමින් සිටි කකු`ථවකු නිසා කුඩා වැලි වළාවෙකින් නැ`ගුණු වැලි යළි තැන්පත් වත් ම, එ දිමුතුව දැක්මෙන් ඔබ්බට ගොස් තිබිණි.
එ අනුයමින් ම, දිමුතුවේ සංගීතය අවසනැ හුදු මිමිනීමක් පමණක් බවට පත් ව අතුරුදන් විය
Here, one remembers a line from T. S. Elliot's Little Gidding: "Dust in the air suspended, Marks the place where a story ended".
"Language is the Dress of Thought." — Samuel Johnson
The language of The Pearl is one of the enticing aspects which lured me to undertake this exercise to render it into Sinhala. I questioned myself on several occasions whether my Sinhala diction was rich enough to express, with the same efficacy, the nuances of human feelings and sentiments that Steinbeck conveys in The Pearl.
In his retelling of a Mexican folktale, Steinbeck relates the tale of Kino, fisherman, who finds the pearl of the world during one of his dives. Showing how money is the root of all evil, Steinbeck delivers a poignant tale. Fish and pearls are usually the common source of the livelihood of fisherfolk. However, the story tells how each member of the village desires part of Kino's newfound wealth. Hence, rather than being pleased with and sharing the happiness of this prized discovery, each villager offers his/her unique suggestion as to how Kino should spend his winnings. Steinbeck thus not only exposes human nature but also through a few characters like the doctor who later came in to treat Coyotito, Kino's son, the priest, and the pearl brokers who attempt to swindle Kino, tells how greed erodes the cherished values, and how people who come upon sudden wealth are affected. This story also teaches us how disastrous it is to take on its face-value and acts mindlessly. The Pearl is, thus, a tale of greed, exposing how people would act and react, if pitted against the circumstances as revealed in the story. In short, The Pearl is a true representation of the secrets of man's nature, irrespective of time or clime, and the 'darkest depths of evil".
An Attempt to Add Depth to the Translation of 'The Pearl'
I strove to make 'Dimuthuwa' go beyond a mere translation of Steinbeck's novelette and presume that the reader should know the background of the story as well if he or she is to enjoy the translation to the fullest. Hence, the following additional pages have been added to the translation:
i. Background – which provides the geographical setting and the novelist's objective of turning out a folktale to a novel.
ii. The historical setting revealing the discrimination and injustice that prevailed in society, which became the crux of the story.
iii. Specialty in John Steinbeck's style of writing and his use of the figurative language especially in describing incidents and the surroundings.
iv. The Pearl Quotes – The products of famous writers contain sayings that will live have their value beyond times and climes. They become eternal truths, and therefore, they become universal truth that are of eternal value. Some describe these sayings as 'Distilled Wisdom'. One such quote by Steinbeck is appended below:
"For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And this is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have."
All these quotes have been rendered into Sinhala in this special section.
John Steinbeck' background
The Pearl is a novella, a seemingly simple book, woven around a story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale. John Steinbeck was an American writer. He was the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'The Grapes of Wrath', published in 1939 and the novella 'Of Mice and Men', published in 1937. He wrote 25 books, including sixteen novels,6 non-fiction books and several collections of short stories. In 1962, Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature. It so happened that after I completed translating 'The Pearl', I was presented a voluminous publication by a friend of mine, which contained five of his novels written before The Pearl, running to over 950 pages. Published in the UK by Octopus Books Limited, its introduction ends with a quote of H. G. Wells: "Steinbeck's robustness was always mirrored by delicacy of feelings; his pride was always matched by modesty, humility even. He saw himself as a craftsman." But his readers concur H. G. Wells on his assessment of Steinbeck – 'THAT TREMENDOUS GENIUS'.
The Mod-Con Tea Party
By Lynn Ockersz
They sure are 'talking',
But tongue-tied all the same,
And though at the same table,
Flushed with the thrill of partying,
There's no mind-to-mind bonhomie,
And the only sounds to be heard,
Are the endless thumping of cell phones,
And the ritualistic rendering of courtesies;
A pantomime of voiceless souls it seems,
But let not this be seen as an ICT Age freak,
For, the land groans under a rash of pains,
With depression emerging a chief dread,
And the need for quality talk is dire;
But the crisis is not beyond repair,
For, a defrosting of hearts and tongues,
And the sensible use of mod cons,
Could some of this longsuffering help end.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Unleashed Summit LIVE. Registration is OPEN!
Posted on May 29, 2014 CategoriesUpcoming EventsTagsBusiness, Clearwater Casino & Resort, Dan Weedin, public speaking, Summit event, Unleashed!Leave a comment on Unleashed Summit LIVE. Registration is OPEN!
I will be holding the inaugural Weedin Unleashed Summit event at the gorgeous Clearwater Casino & Resort in Suquamish, WA on Tuesday, September 23rd from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm. You will be joined by dozens of business leaders, professionals, and peers from the area to take part in this event. The fee is only $99. Space is limited to 75 people, so registering early is essential to assuring your seat.
Identifying the "open gates" in your professional and personal life so you can take full advantage of all your opportunities.
Creating branding and marketing prosperity through intellectual property creation.
Improving your ability to be an influential leader and a more dynamic communicator.
Best practices on how to better prioritize, delegate and manage your time.
Best Practices on improving your work-life balance.
A chance to network with your peers and enjoy a beautiful location.
Note: If you're a current active client (coaching/mentoring/consulting) at time of registration, there is NO fee to attend.
When I was a kid, Memorial Day was a day off from school. It was a great holiday because it marked the beginning of summer, the nearing of the end of another school year, and baseball.
My dad was a World War II veteran, a 30-year Navy man, and we lived in a Navy town. However, Memorial Day was just another holiday.
Today, that's all changed. Yes, I still do like the perks – my wife gets the day off to stay home; the food; and the return of the sun. But I also more deeply understand the meaning for today.
Topic = No Straight Line – Trend up!
The past 8 weeks for me have been a blur. In that time, I've been to San Francisco; Bogotá, Colombia; Portland, OR; Billings, MT; Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and the metropolis known as Hurricane, WV.
There are no straight lines to your "desired state." No matter what your goals and direction to that desired state you defined at some point, things happen. I call it gravitational pull. Gravitational pull is all those speed bumps that not only slow you down, but try to pull you back down to that default position that you didn't want to stay at. It's rebounding from those speed bumps to get back on track and avoid any further pull that make us truly successful.
How do you do it? First, you recognize it's happening. Seems simple, but it's the most important and hardest part. Second, you get help. Use your coach or mentor; your spouse or significant other; or whatever source of inspiration that guides you. You can't be brilliant by yourself. Third, you acknowledge that you're human, that this stuff will happen, and get back to business.
Join me LIVE to discuss this topic, ask questions, and meet Captain Jack. It's free, easy, and will be the best 30 minutes you will spend today. Click here for details.


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Hey Sony, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Sony's failure to support their hardware gambles is disrespectful to their consumers.
Ever since the PlayStation made its North American debut on December 3, 1994, I've been a strong believer in the hardware juggernaut's products. And why shouldn't I be? For over two decades, they've consistently released incredibly powerful consoles that have been by all accounts resounding victories for the Minato, Tokyo-based corporation. Many of the biggest franchises we enjoy today surfed into our collective consciences atop a DualShock controller. And if Sony's strong performance this hardware generation is any indication, the company's incredible success story doesn't show any signs of coming to a close anytime soon.
Given what the PlayStation brand has accomplished for Sony, you'd think they'd be showing a bit of confidence in their products. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case. When it comes to taking a gamble on products that step outside of their comfort zone, Sony shows an alarming tendency to cash out their chips before the game even begins.
Make no mistake, Sony are the kings of cranking out powerful and versatile hardware. But the moment things don't pan out the way they had hoped, the company is quick to run tail and run – often leaving players with an expensive paperweight after the dust settles. Just look at the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation Vita: both of these handheld systems released with near-console quality performance that left Nintendo's portable offerings in the dust in terms of raw horsepower. However, these devices packed a pretty hefty price tag to match their beefier performance. and in turn the steep price of admission ensured both handhelds were slow to garner a sizable user base. While Sony could have focused their efforts on bringing a healthy stable of first party support to the platforms, they instead turned a blind eye to both handhelds, leaving third party developers to keep them alive.
And if the past five months have been any indication, the PlayStation VR could be the next casualty of Sony's apparent hardware malaise.
The PSP and Vita offered great performance compared to the competition, but Sony quickly abandoned both handhelds.
Since the PlayStation VR released on October 13, 2016, Sony has shown scant support for the device, which set early adopters back a whopping $500 for the base model console, and $600 for the premium package, which included everything one would need for getting the most out of their new HMD. With only a small handful of first-party titles in development for the device, including the elusive FPS, FarPoint, and Sony's strange silence regarding the hardware at last December's PlayStation Experience event in San Francisco, it seems pretty clear that Sony has reined in their enthusiasm for the platform.
As a day-one adopter of the PSVR, I have to say I'm finally at the point where I've had enough of being Sony's willing guinea pig. Their noncommittal approach to their pricey experiments is inexcusable, and a disservice to their loyal consumers.
Sony have demonstrated once again that they are the masters of pitching a sale. When it comes to press events and hardware announcements, very few companies can generate the kind of excitement from their fans that Sony does. Still, despite all of the enthusiasm they demonstrate when pulling back the curtain on their side projects, they always end up cutting their losses before these products can reach their full potential. Since the start of 2017, the only game of note to release on the PSVR is Capcom's Resident Evil VII: Biohazard. And after the majority of PSVR owners plow through the latest entry in Capcom's long-running survival horror series, which has proven to be one of the most compelling arguments for the VR despite not being designed specifically for it, it's very likely that their headsets will be collecting dust for months to come. For a product that just released last holiday season, that's simply unacceptable.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood was a delightfully demented showcase of the PSVR's capabilities.
And that's a damn shame, because the PSVR is a fantastic little device. Sure, it may not be as cutting-edge as the the Oclus Rift or HTC Vive, but it's an affordable VR setup that performs admirably despite its share of caveats, which include single-camera tracking and the antiquated PlayStation Move controllers. Still, given the huge install base of the PlayStation 4, the PSVR actually has the potential to be the product that helps the medium achieve mainstream popularity. But it's pretty obvious Sony doesn't have the stomach to make that happen, at least looking at the headset's almost nonexistent lineup of upcoming software.
One of the real kickers when it comes to Sony's mismanagement of the PSVR is that the company pitched the PlayStation 4 Pro as a device that is meant to beef up the performance of PSVR software considerably. With that in mind I, like I'm assuming many others, purchased the Pro hoping to get the most out of my headset – though 4K support was also obviously a good reason to snatch up Sony's newest iteration of the console. Unfortunately, with so little on the horizon for the headset, it seems like the promises of an optimized PSVR experience is something of an empty promise. That said, taking the Pro into consideration, I've dumped close to a thousand dollars into a setup designed for the ideal PSVR performance since last fall, with precious little to show for it. And while I'm not opposed to taking a risk when I buy new hardware, that's a lot of cash to throw away on an experiment that looks like it could be on track to fizzle out in the coming months. I'm sure I'm not the only person who's feeling similarly disillusioned by Sony's lackluster handling of the PSVR. After all, the initial launch lineup served as a fantastic example of what the hardware could do. Games like Batman: Arkham VR, Battlezone VR, and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood were compelling showcases of what the medium has to offer. But it seems like that initial torrent of software could very well be the PSVR's one and only surge of support.
Sony still has time to right the ship and show some earnest support for the PSVR, but their own silence on the topic doesn't really instill a great deal of confidence that we'll be seeing that happen. If this year's E3 isn't chock full of surprises slated for the headset, I think it's safe to say that Sony has once again sent another piece of fantastic tech out to pasture well ahead of its time. And if that's the case, I don't see myself taking the plunge on their next ill-fated experiment.
Thankfully, there are still a few games on the horizon that look poised to shine on the PlayStation VR. Cockpit-based experiences are always excellent showpieces for VR, and Ace Combat 7 could well be the killer app many have been waiting for. Polyphony's Gran Turismo Sport is also set to race onto the PSVR later this year. However, it remains to be seen if the heavy graphical concessions that plagued Driveclub VR will rear their head to impact fans' enjoyment of the game when it races to retail in November. We also can't rule out indie studios making up for a lack of steady first-party support. The Vita and PSP survived for years despite a lack of real support from Sony, with the Vita still receiving a steady stream of releases thanks to publishers like Koei Tecmo and NISA. Given its experimental nature, VR has thrived with indie support on PCs, and with any luck we'll see the same happen with the PSVR over time.
So, are you feeling a bit left in the cold due to Sony's lack of serious support for their non-flagship platforms? Were you burned on the PSP, Vita, or PSVR? And if you bought a PSVR, do you think that Sony will be able to make things right, or that third party studios will be able to offer enough support to make it a worthwhile addition to the PlayStation family? As always, we love to hear what you think. Be sure to sound off in the comments and let us know.
Tagged Playstation VRPSVRSonyVirtual RealityVita
Francis DiPersio
Frank has been the caffeine-fueled evil overlord of HeyPoorPlayer since 2008. He speaks loudly and carries a big stick to keep the staff of the HPP madhouse in check. A collector of all things that blip and beep, he has an extensive collection of retro consoles and arcade machines crammed into his house. Currently playing: Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou (Arcade), Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Switch), Neo Turf Masters (Neo Geo)
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text:
Off-duty officers to patrol bike paths in Springfield
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
By Allyson Brown
Off-duty Springfield Police Division officers will patrol the multi-use trails in the Springfield area to make residents feel safer using them.
The four officers will ride the network of trails until the end of October.
The idea for bike patrols came from the Ohio Department of Health, said Elle Evans-Peterson, Creating Healthier Communities grant coordinator for the Clark County Combined Health District.
READ MORE: Police: Urbana man severely beat cat, claimed it was a raccoon
"Two-thirds of the county are either overweight or obese and the majority of them are also sedentary," Evans-Peterson said.
The health district wants to improve that because it can lead to chronic diseases, she said. Clark County has lots of options for outdoor physical activity that could help residents with that, she said, including the bike paths.
She would like for people to get out and use the trails more, which is what they're trying to do with the bike patrols.
The trails are a safe place, Evans-Peterson said, and no violent crime has been reported. But in a community survey, people said they would use the trails more if there was a police presence.
About $6,000 is being used to run this project through the fall, which will allow a large amount of patrol hours. Officers will be on the Buck Creek Trail, Simon Kenton Trail and the Little Miami Scenic Trail.
DETAILS: 2017 Clark County Fair results: See who won their shows
"That's why it's important the Clark County Combined Health District is able to provide this funding, along with the Springfield Conservancy District, to be able to allow us to do this project," said Brad Boyer, the deputy director for the National Trail Parks and Recreation District. "It has been done on a minimal basis when we were able to find access to funding."
Most of what the officers see when patrolling is people drinking or vandalism, Evans-Peterson said.
The officers are a resource, she said.
"Mostly people are lost or looking for directions or they have lost their dog," Evans-Peterson said.
This program brings the community together through exercise, she said, and creates a bridge between the police officers and the community.
"To get to meet them, to talk to them, they are real people," she said. "They have families. They love to ride bikes. They love to work out and be outside."
The officers patrol the trails during their off time when there is heavier ridership on the trails, typically Thursday to Sunday during the summer.
As of last week, 37 hours have been recorded by the officers on the trails and 240 miles have been ridden.
Kenneth Beady has been walking the trails for about four years, starting after he was diagnosed with chronic lung disease.
"Because I have COPD and to build myself up, lose weight and build my heart up," Beady said.
Beady has met the officers who patrol the trails and said they're nice, friendly and helpful.
"Off-duty police officers, a lot of them ride these trails on their own time but they are just adding extra duty for this project," Evans-Peterson said.
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text:
Ad Valk (Dubbeldam, 23 juli 1955) is een Nederlands nieuwslezer. Hij is sinds 2 mei 1983 werkzaam bij de landelijke radio.

Alvorens Valk bij de omroep ging werken was hij in dienst bij de regionale krant De Stem, tegenwoordig BN/DeStem. Daarnaast presenteerde hij onder zijn pseudoniem Bart Valk programma's bij ziekenomroep Studio Audio en Stads RTV Breda, de lokale omroep van Breda. Ook was hij van 1983 tot 1985 werkzaam als nieuwslezer/redacteur bij het Belgisch/Nederlands grensstation Radio Continu.

Valk werd ontdekt door Ruud Hendriks van Veronica. De omroep gaf lokale omroepen eens in de zoveel tijd de kans een uurtje radio te maken in het mediaprogramma De Grote Verwarring. De lokale omroep van Breda, Stads RTV Breda, was een van de omroepen die op Hilversum 2 een uur radio mochten verzorgen. Valk deed de presentatie. Na de uitzending nodigde Hendriks hem uit voor een bezoek aan Veronica Nieuwsradio. Valk kreeg prompt een aantal berichten toegeschoven en werd meteen in het diepe gegooid. Behalve Veronica Nieuwsradio presenteerde hij ook het populaire Muziek voor Miljoenen en Strauss & Co (VOO) op Hilversum 4, nu Radio 4.

In november 1988 vertrok Ad Valk naar het ANP, later NOS Radionieuws, als nieuwslezer en redacteur.

Valk maakte in 1992 de overstap naar Sky Radio om de nieuwsdienst op te zetten. De bulletins werden naast op Sky Radio ook uitgezonden op Radio 538, Radio Veronica en Classic FM. Op 10 maart 2013 las hij om 23.00 uur zijn laatste bulletin op Sky Radio. Vanwege bezuinigingen door de Telegraaf Media Groep werd de eigen nieuwsdienst opgeheven. Valk coacht ook (beginnende) presentatoren en nieuwslezers.

Nederlands journalist
Nederlands nieuwslezer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This example models the transient heating, and final temperature, of a disc brake of a car in brake-and-release sequence. It is important to model the transient heating and the following convective cooling to determine the minimum interval between a series of similar brake engagements. If the cooling is insufficient the disc overheats and results in brake failure.
The model uses the Heat Transfer interface in 3D and simulates the transient heat production, dissipation and transfer within the disc as it rotates slower and slower. The maximum temperature is reached after approximately 2/3 of the brake engagement time. The results show that the cooling time between similar brake engagements needs to be in the range of 100 seconds to achieve sufficient cooling.


text:
Portugal's president self-isolates amid virus…
Portugal's president self-isolates amid virus outbreak
FILE – In this Sunday, July 14, 2019 file photo, Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa leaves after a lunch at the Elysee Palace that followed Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris. The office of Portugal's 71-year-old president said Sunday March 8, 2020 that he has canceled all public activities and will stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)
PUBLISHED: March 8, 2020 at 1:48 p.m. | UPDATED: March 12, 2020 at 2:08 p.m.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The office of Portugal's 71-year-old president said Sunday that he has canceled all public activities and will stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recently received a group of students from a school which has since been closed following the detection of a student with COVID-19.
His office said that the president had no symptoms. It added that the infected student wasn't included in the group that visited the presidential palace. His office said that he decided to self-isolate "to provide an example of taking preventative measures while continuing to work at home."
The president's office specified that although he took photos with the group of students, he didn't greet them individually. Rebelo de Sousa is known as being an effusive and affectionate president who is extremely popular in Portugal.
Why did Oakland and San Mateo students receive at-home COVID-19 tests earlier than kids in San Francisco and Hayward?
Hayward schools will return to in-person learning
Portugal has recorded 25 coronavirus cases and no deaths.
Coronavirus Government News
Weekend Wire


text:
<?php

// no php notices please...
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', 1);

/**
 * Note: make sure Doctrine library is defined in your include path.
 */
define('DOCTRINE_LIB_PATH', '/usr/php-5.3/lib/php');
ini_set(
    'include_path',
    implode(
        PATH_SEPARATOR,
        array(
            __DIR__ .DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR
            .implode(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array('..', '..', '..', 'src', 'mg')),
            DOCTRINE_LIB_PATH,
            __DIR__ .'/entities',
            ini_get('include_path'),
            ))
        );

require_once 'entities/Person.php';

// register Doctrine class loader
require 'Doctrine/Common/ClassLoader.php';
$classLoader = new \Doctrine\Common\ClassLoader('Doctrine', DOCTRINE_LIB_PATH);
$classLoader->register();

// register Ding autoloader
require_once 'Ding/Autoloader/Autoloader.php'; // Include ding autoloader.
\Ding\Autoloader\Autoloader::register(); // Call autoloader register for ding autoloader.

// Uncomment these two lines if you want to try zend_cache instead of
// the default available cache backends. Also, modify one of the 'impl' options
// below to use it (see example below).
//require_once 'Zend/Loader/Autoloader.php';
//Zend_Loader_Autoloader::getInstance();

use Ding\Container\Impl\ContainerImpl;
use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManager;
try
{
    $myProperties = array(
        'doctrine.proxy.dir' => './proxies',
        'doctrine.proxy.autogenerate' => true,
        'doctrine.proxy.namespace' => "\\Test\\Proxies",
        'doctrine.entity.path' => __DIR__ ."/entities",
        'doctrine.db.driver' => "pdo_sqlite",
        'doctrine.db.path' => __DIR__ ."/db.sqlite3",
        'user.name' => 'nobody',
        'log.dir' => '/tmp/alogdir',
        'log.file' => 'alog.log',
        'php.date.timezone' => 'America/Buenos_Aires'
	 );
    $dingProperties = array(
        'ding' => array(
            'log4php.properties' => __DIR__ . '/../log4php.properties',
    		'factory' => array(
                'bdef' => array(
                	'xml' => array('filename' => 'beans.xml', 'directories' => array(__DIR__)),
                ),
                'properties' => $myProperties
            ),
    		  'cache' => array(
    			'proxy' => array('impl' => 'dummy', 'directories' => '/tmp/Ding/proxy'),
//        		'bdef' => array('impl' => 'zend', 'zend' => $zendCacheOptions),
//              'bdef' => array('impl' => 'apc'),
        		'bdef' => array('impl' => 'dummy', 'directories' => '/tmp/Ding/bdef'),
//        		'beans' => array('impl' => 'file', 'directory' => '/tmp/Ding/beans'),
//        		'bdef' => array('impl' => 'memcached', 'memcached' => $memcachedOptions),
//        		'beans' => array('impl' => 'memcached', 'memcached' => $memcachedOptions),
                'beans' => array('impl' => 'dummy')
//              'beans' => array('impl' => 'apc')
//        		'beans' => array('impl' => 'zend', 'zend' => $zendCacheOptions),
           )
        )
    );
    $a = ContainerImpl::getInstance($dingProperties);
    $em = $a->getBean('repository-locator');
    createSchema($myProperties);

    $person = new Person('foobar', 'Foo', 'Bar');
    echo "Persisting $person\n";
    $em->persist($person);
    $em->flush();
    $person = $em->find('Person', 1);

    echo "Retrieved from db:$person\n";

    @unlink($myProperties['doctrine.db.path']);
} catch(Exception $exception) {
    echo $exception . "\n";
}

function createSchema($props) {
    $schema = file_get_contents(__DIR__ .'/schema.sql');
    $config = new \Doctrine\DBAL\Configuration();
    //..
    $connectionParams = array(
        'driver' => $props['doctrine.db.driver'],
        'path' => $props['doctrine.db.path'],
    );
    $conn = \Doctrine\DBAL\DriverManager::getConnection($connectionParams);
    $conn->executeQuery($schema);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Tag Archives: #Ghana
African Studies Association 2019
This week, the UW Press has been exhibiting at the annual African Studies Association Conference in Boston. The conference is wrapping up, but if you're attending, there's still one last day to stop by booth 314 for discounts on books and journals. And if you're not in Boston, here's a look at our new and notable titles in African Studies.
Holding the World Together, edited by Nwando Achebe and Claire Robertson
Featuring contributions from some of the most accomplished scholars on the topic, Holding the World Together explores the rich and varied ways women have wielded power across the African continent, from the precolonial period to the present. This comprehensive volume, focusing on agency and avoiding stereotypical depictions, features essays on the representation of African women, their role in national liberation movements, their incorporation into the world economy, changing family and marriage systems, economic impacts on their lives and livelihoods, their unique challenges in the areas of health and disease, and their experiences with religious fundamentalism, violence, and slavery.
Health in a Fragile State, by John M. Janzen
Based on extensive field research in the Manianga region of the Lower Congo, Health in a Fragile State is an anthropological account of public health and health care in the 1980s and 1990s after the collapse of the Congolese state. This work brings into focus John M. Janzen's earlier books on African health and healing, revealing the collaborative effort by local, national, and international agencies to create viable alternative institutions to those that represented the centralized state. With this volume, Janzen documents and analyzes the realignment of existing institutions and the creation of new ones that shape health and healing.
Throughout, Janzen explores the manner in which power and information, including science, are legitimized in the preservation and improvement of health. Institutional validity and knowledge empower citizens and health practitioners to gain the upper hand over the region's principal diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, and HIV/AIDS.
African Economic History, edited by Mariana Candido, Toyin Falola, Toby Green, and Paul E. Lovejoy
African Economic History publishes scholarly essays in English and French on the economic history of African societies from precolonial times to the present. It features research in a variety of fields and time periods, including studies on labor, slavery, trade and commercial networks, economic transformations, colonialism, migration, development policies, social and economic inequalities, and poverty. The audience includes historians, economists, anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, policymakers, and a range of other scholars interested in African economies—past and present.
Spirit Children, by Aaron R. Denham
Some babies and toddlers in parts of West Africa are considered spirit children—nonhumans sent from the forest to cause misfortune and destroy the family. These are usually deformed or ailing infants, or children whose births coincide with tragic events or who display unusual abilities. Aaron R. Denham offers a nuanced ethnographic study of this phenomenon in Northern Ghana that examines both the motivations of the families and the structural factors that lead to infanticide. He also turns the lens on the prevailing misunderstandings about this controversial practice. Denham offers vivid accounts of families' life-and-death decisions that engage the complexity of the context, local meanings, and moral worlds of those confronting a spirit child.
Ghana Studies, edited by Carina Ray and Kofi Baku
Ghana Studies is the journal of the Ghana Studies Association, an international affiliate of the African Studies Association. Published annually, Ghana Studies strives to provide a forum for cutting edge original research about Ghana's society, culture, environment, and history. All of the scholarly articles in Ghana Studies are peer-reviewed by two anonymous referees, coordinated by an editorial team based in both North America and Ghana. Since its first issue in 1998, Ghana Studies has published significant work by leading scholars based in Ghana, the United States, Canada, and Europe. In addition, Ghana Studies features occasional material, source reports, and book reviews. It also serves to provide official notice of fellowships and prizes awarded by the Ghana Studies Association.
Posted in African Studies, Books, Cultural and Ethnic Studies, Journals and tagged #Ghana, African Economic History, African Studies, Anthropology, Democratic Republic of the Congo, economics, Ghana Studies, health, Public health, women, women's rights on November 23, 2019 by Claire Eder. Leave a comment
University of Wisconsin Press launches three African Studies journals
At last week's annual convention of the African Studies Association in San Diego, the University of Wisconsin Press announced that it is the new publisher of three journals in the field: African Economic History, Ghana Studies, and Mande Studies. The journals had previously been published by the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in affiliation with the Ghana Studies Association and Mande Studies Association.
"The University of Wisconsin Press has been an active and award-winning book publisher in African studies for more than fifty years, often partnering with the University of Wisconsin–Madison's prestigious African Studies Program on book series and conference exhibits," noted press director Dennis Lloyd. "Publishing these journals is a natural extension of that collaboration and of our commitment to the field of African Studies."
The African Studies Program at UW–Madison will continue to be involved as a collaborator and liaison. Neil Kodesh, ASP director, said the transition to UWP "will result in much higher quality production and customer service, while maintaining affordability at a nonprofit university press. And the new designs look great!"
"It was exciting to reintroduce these journals at the ASA conference," said Toni Gunnison, Journals Manager at UWP. "It is our priority to make the journal content more dynamic and available online. We will be able to improve each journal's international visibility through online services, marketing, customer service and fulfillment, and advertising. UWP publishes fifteen journals covering in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields, so we have the staff and expertise to enhance these journals in a cost-efficient way."
UWP's production manager for journals, John Ferguson, has given each journal a fresh new cover and interior text design.
"In approaching the redesign of these journals, I asked the faculty and staff at the UW–Madison African Studies program for ideas. We really wanted covers that represent the research content of the journals. Catherine Reiland, interim associate director at ASP, connected me with Mary Hark in UW-Madison's School of Human Ecology. The patterns that appear on the journals are photographic representations of indigo-dyed handmade papers that Mary created with botanical fiber collected in Kumasi, Ghana."
African Economic History was founded in 1974 by the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin and subsequently has also been affiliated York University's Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas. The annual journal publishes multidisciplinary work in English and French on the economic history of African societies from precolonial times to the present. The journal is edited by Mariana Candido (University of Kansas), Jennifer Lofkrantz (State University of New York–Geneseo), and Paul E. Lovejoy (York University).
Ghana Studies is the journal of the Ghana Studies Association, an international affiliate of the African Studies Association. Published annually, Ghana Studies provides a forum for peer-reviewed, cutting-edge research about Ghana's society, culture, environment and history. In addition, it features occasional material, source reports, book reviews, and notices of fellowships and prizes awarded by the Ghana Studies Association. Since its first issue in 1998, Ghana Studies has published significant work by leading scholars based in Ghana, the US, Canada, and Europe. The journal is edited by Akousua Adomako Ampofo (University of Ghana) and Sean Hanretta (Northwestern University).
Mande Studies was founded in 1999 by MANSA, the Mande Studies Association. It is an international, interdisciplinary annual journal publishing scholarly essays in English and French on the history, arts, anthropology, sociology, development, and contemporary issues relating to the diverse peoples and cultures of the Mande diaspora of West Africa. The Mande world includes parts of the Cape Verde Islands, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana. The journal is edited by Peter Mark (Wesleyan University) and Ismaela Samba Traoré (Institut des sciences humaines, Mali).
Sheila Leary, Communications Director, The University of Wisconsin Press
publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu 608-263-0734 uwpress.wisc.edu
Posted in Journals and tagged #Africa, #Ghana, #Mande, @aaupresses, @AfEconHis, @asanewsonline, @UW ASP, @uwiscpress, African Studies, readup on November 24, 2015 by uwpress.wisc.edu. Leave a comment


No plans for Valentines's Day? Enjoy a romantic getaway in the Baja Penninsula! Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year which means you can spend a weekend in Cabo San Lucas with the one you love while enjoying the activites, shopping, restaurant and warm weather.
Cabo offers a lot of romantic excursions so there are plenty of fun activities for you and your partner to partcipate in while spending quality time together. More active couples might enjoy horseback riding on the beach or kayaking the Baja coastline. If you have relaxtion in mind, consider checking into a spa resort such as the Casa Dorada Resort and Spa. Spend the day exploring the city's jewelry and cigar shops or take a whale watching excursion, one of the unique activies Cabo San Lucas has to offer January through March.
When planning your Valentine's Day evening, consider the Caborey dinner cruiser. Enjoy your choice of the Coborey's specialty shimp or sea bass cooked in a delicious white wine sauce while watching the sun set in the Marina Cabo San Lucas.
When booking your trip, be sure to check discount websites such as Travelocity where you can save up to $340 on Vacation Packages, plus get a $75 reward card when you book with any American Express card! Promo Code 75AMXGIFT.
No plans for Valentines's Day? Enjoy a romantic getaway in the Baja Penninsula! Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year which means you can spend a weekend in Cabo San Lucas with the one you love while enjoying the activites, shopping, dining and warm weather.


text:
Terrell Forney, Reporter
Andrea Torres, Digital Journalist
Published: February 18, 2020, 4:23 PM
Updated: February 18, 2020, 4:35 PM
Tags: Business, Broward County, Florida, Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale
Americans who left cruise trade one quarantine for another
American cruise passengers quarantined at US military bases
Cruise stranded by virus fears ends with roses in Cambodia
Port Everglades moves closer to being 'big-ship ready' with $29M project
Congress pushes port's Intracoastal Waterway project forward
Published: February 18, 2020, 4:23 PM Updated: February 18, 2020, 4:35 PM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Port Everglades, the 12th leading container port in the country, is moving forward with a $29.1 million upgrade that is part of a series of projects to adapt to the world's largest cargo ships that have been able to transit the Panama Canal since its expansion.
The project will expand parts of the Intracoastal Waterway, so cargo ships are able to transit to and from the southern part of the port. It also contributes to part of the cost of building a new facility for the U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale.
"This station ... has been there for 45 years, and it has been a rough 45 years, and we have used it and abused it and we are more than happy to get a new one," said Lt. Derek Wallin, commanding officer of the station.
The dredging and widening project has been talked about for decades. Congress approved part of it in the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which allowed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the design phase. Recently, Congress allowed the port to move forward with the USACE fiscal year 2020 work plan.
"It is truly remarkable and unacceptable, quite frankly, how long this took," Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said, adding that the project is projected to create 2,200 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.
Despite, the delays the port has been making progress. In 2017, the Broward County Board of County Commissioners approved the $500 million Southport Turning Notch Expansion, or STNE, construction. Workers broke ground June 2018 and the historic project is set to be completed in 2022.
The Port Everglades' Master/Vision Plan 2018 (Courtesy of Port Everglades)
"There are many more steps to go where we're at that point where we have that 50 feet of water that we need to be able to compete in today's economy and today's world where the ships continue to get bigger," said Glenn Wiltshire, Port Everglades acting chief executive and port director.
The port's expansion projects have the support of Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness and Gov. Ron DeSantis and the bi-partisan support of Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and from Representatives Wasserman-Schultz, Ted Deutsch, Alcee Hastings, Frederica Wilson, Lois Frankel and Mario Diaz-Balart.
Copyright 2020 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
Two charter flights carrying cruise ship passengers from Japan landed at military bases in California and Texas overnight, starting the clock on a quarantine period to ensure passengers don't have the new virus that's been spreading in Asia.
Terrell Forney
Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.
Andrea Torres
The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.


text:
Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998) - Steve Miner
It sounds like a good idea. Psycho slasher of Haddonfield Michael Myers has returned to have another go at murdering his sister Laurie Strode. This time marking the twentieth anniversary of the night that he had murdered her friends and those close to her. It all seems really neat until they unravel what has already been made.
Laurie Strode, now going by Keri Tate works at a private school with her son in Northern California. She is haunted by the events that happened to her twenty years prior and has apparently reflected that into her son. He resents her and acts rebellious as a seventeen year old with his private school friends. Michael Myers eventually finds her and comes calling for a reunion of sorts. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie with Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, LL Cool J, and Janet Leigh to round out the cast.
This movie acts as though
Halloween 3 - 6
had never happened. Which is unfortunate. It puts your franchise in a weird place. I really dislike when horror movie franchises do this. Your fans shouldn't have to try and piece things together. This leads to the Halloween franchise having four different dimensions. This is complicated!
The first dimension is a dimension where
Halloween 1 & 2
happened and then that jumped right to
. This is the world in which Michael Myers is squarely aiming for Laurie. The second includes
Halloween 1, 2, 4, 5, & 6
. This world introduces magic and supernatural events. It continues on the story that Michael must murder every member of his family. This is why he goes after Jamie Lloyd. The third is the Rob Zombie universe which is the rebooted Halloween series starting with
(2007) up to
(2009). These movies are more brutal and acknowledges supernatural elements. The fourth is the Halloween 3: Season of the Witch installment that is a completely different tale in another world.
is a disaster. After watching the movie you are left with a bad taste in your mouth. Probably due to the incredibly short running time and lack of Michael Myers. The film has its clever moments but is too muddled by bad decisions.
During the scene where Norma is leaving, she stands in front the car from Psycho (1960). The music playing in the background at this part is also from Psycho. Janet Leigh, who plays Norma, played Marion in Psycho. The license plate on the car is also the same as the second car Marion buys in Psycho, NFB 418, which are Norman Bates' initials.
On one of the newspaper clippings seen during the opening credits, a picture of Dr. Sam Loomis can be seen. The character was featured in the previous Halloween films, and was portrayed by Donald Pleasence.
The reports that Kevin Williamson's original treatment for "H20" included a scene in which "Halloween 4" through "6" are acknowledged as being "in continuity" and "canon" are completely accurate. The scene did exist, and involved a bitchy student at Keri/Laurie's school giving a class report on the "Haddonfield Murders", and going into great detail about Jamie Lloyd, Danielle Harris and JC Brandy's character from "Halloween 4" through "6". The student talks about Jamie losing her parents in an auto accident, as was the explanation in those sequels for Laurie Strode's absence. (In fact, the only reason for Laurie to be in the Witness Protection Program with her son under an assumed name as "Keri Tate" at all was because the original story for "H20" was conceived like this, with "Halloween 4" through "6" in continuity, and Williamson thus being required to create an explanation for Laurie's "death" in the previous movies and her subsequent resurrection.) The student's report chronicles Jamie's being hunted and eventually killed by her uncle, Michael Myers. Upon hearing this oral presentation in the classroom, a grief-stricken Keri/Laurie then retreats to a restroom and throws up. This scene was of course omitted from the actual film.
Tagged: 1998, 31 Movies of Halloween, 90's Horror, Franchise, Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Josh Hartnett, Michael Myers, Michelle Williams, Murder, Sequel, Slasher, Steve Miner


Jobs, the economy, and American's ability to compete globally were big topics this year, especially as they factored heavily into the 2016 presidential election. Many news outlets reported that job loss and economic decline in America's small towns lead to the election's outcome—which took many by surprise.
New numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics seem to defy those economic and employment woes, but a closer look reveals this employment high-note comes with some disappointing undertones.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report released on December 2nd, the U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in the last month and saw a decreased unemployment rate at 4.6 percent—representing a nine year low.
While they point to prosperity alone, these numbers don't reveal the whole story. The workforce itself is shrinking, with more baby boomers retiring and reducing the working age population to 62.7%.
While more Americans are working than just a few years ago, the U-6 rate shows that many still must settle for part-time work due to the lack of full-time employment options.
This rate has decreased to its lowest level since April of 2008, but it's still telling; while Americans are willing and able to work more, opportunity is lacking. Wages have remained a frustrating and disappointing issue even as the labor market tightens.
Average hourly earnings have fallen by 0.1% since October and although earnings have risen to 2.5% from a year ago, they are .3% lower than economists had projected.
Democrats are seizing the opportunity to highlight the glowing points and growth in the U.S economy over the last eight years, but Republicans and Trump supporters are just as eager to point out where these numbers fall short of hopes and expectations.
Regardless of your personal leanings, it seems the U.S. still has a lot of work to do and a lot of divides to narrow to maintain what the economy has gained and find a track that leads to greater prosperity.
What did you take away from the recent employment report? Comment and tell us your thoughts.


text:
est la formule brute de plusieurs isomères.

Acide dicarboxylique
 acide tétraméthylène glutarique, numéro CAS
 acide pinique, numéro CAS
Ester
 1,2-cyclopentanedicarboxylate de diméthyle, numéro CAS
 1,1-cyclopropanedicarboxylate de diéthyle, numéro CAS
 éthylidènemalonate de diéthyle, numéro CAS
 glutaconate de diéthyle, numéro CAS


This week on Venturer News, Brittany Lehman reports on: LinkedIn is moving towards video, Walmart expands its grocery delivery service with the help of Uber, and an AI Startup backed by Joe Montana and Alexis Ohanian raised $6 million dollars. LinkedIn is coming up with a video strategy! The professional social media platform has been a little late to the video game, but they are finally launching a video feature. This new feature will allow professionals to create and upload videos that highlight what they are currently working on or have finished. Walmart is expanding a test of its grocery delivery service with the help of Uber! Walmart customers who are wanting the convenience of delivery can shop for their groceries online and have them delivered via an UberRUSH for an additional fee of $9.95. Customers have to spend a minimum of $30 dollars on groceries to qualify for the delivery. IUNU, Inc, a startup for commercial greenhouses and indoor farms is getting more green! IUNU, Inc has raised $6 million dollars from celeb investors including Joe Montana and Reddit's Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian. IUNU, Inc's AI system called LUNA uses data and machine learning to track and predict the health of plants by using camera's and sensors.


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