text:
Hair Newsletter Style
The History of the Fade
EBONY Exclusive Entertainment Hair
Viola Davis Doesn't Believe Hollywood 'Understands' Or 'Honors' Black Hair
Entertainment Hair
Ciara Flaunts Flowing Tresses After Years of Chemical Damage
Hair News Style
'Basketball Wives' Star Jackie Christie Goes for the Big Chop (PHOTO)
New Year, New Look: Usher Debuts Freshly Permed Hairstyle
Entertainment Hair News Style
Serena Williams' Hubby Tries to Get the Scoop on Her Perfect Edges
Kardashians Credited With 'Glass Hair' Trend, Better Known As The Silk Press
Weave Bundles Are Available in Virginia Mall Vending Machine (VIDEO)
Lena Waithe Admits Queer Stereotypes Made Her Hesitant to Cut Locs
Lupita Nyong'o on Kinky Hair Being Deemed 'Uncivilized'
Princess Gabbara
Big Daddy Kayne / YouTube
If there was ever a haircut that exemplified coolness, it has to be none other than the fade.
The hairstyle originated in the U.S. military around the '40s and '50s. Since the military is known for having strict grooming standards, it's no surprise to learn that the fade haircut was and still is popular among military men, as the harsh lines and angles signaled you meant business.
Naturally, new times usher in new trends. Over the decades, Black folks experimented with different hairstyles, whether it was the afro or the infamous Jheri curl. By the time the mid-80s rolled around, a reworked, edgier version of the fade was emerging thanks to Black barbers. It would soon become a standard in hip-hop culture during its golden era.
We're talking about the hi-top fade a.k.a. the flattop. Before Cameo, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B & Rakim and others made it their signature look, Grace Jones rocked one on her 1980 Warm Leatherette album cover. Because Queen Nefertiti's crown closely resembles the hi-top, many believe it derived from Ancient Egypt.
My top 10 most beautiful women in the art. Very personal choice of course and there would be so many more. 1/10: Queen Nefertiti bust at Berlin Aegyptisches Museum. First time I saw her, I was stunned by her ridiculously fresh colours, her royal posture, the extreme delicacy of her profile and her presence; who'd say she is more than 3,000-year old 😍?#nefertiti #pharaoh #berlin #newkingdom #egyptianart #mostbeautifulgirlintheworld #egyptianantiquities #artymorning
A post shared by Aline Sylla-Walbaum (@asw12061972) on Dec 9, 2016 at 12:46am PST
"Hip-hop impacted the way we dressed and how we wore our hair especially," says Greg Cooper Spencer a.k.a. GregTheGroomer, a New York-based master barber and hairstylist with 20-plus years of experience. "Before this period, we relied heavily on Black leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali who sported afros, to influence how we engaged in society in addition to our look."
"Just as hip-hop emerged, so did the artists who made sure their hair and wardrobe stood out, along with their music," Spencer continues.
Helping to push the flattop into further notoriety was the popularity of rappers, including Kid 'n Play and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, along with the box-office success of Do The Right Thing and Lean On Me. Though most common among men, a few women took the hi-top out for a spin, including Queen Latifah as seen in her "Ladies First" video.
Trends come and go with the hi-top fading out in the early '90s. With the exception of Black celebrities, including Nas, Kanye West, Usher, will. i. am., and Kendrick Lamar, modernizing it in the 2010s, the hi-top has gradually evolved back into a more tapered look much like how it started.
There are different types of fades with the low and high fade being most popular. "How you determine one or the other is simply where the demarcation is placed in relation to the temple or occipital bone of the head. Above is high and below is low," Spencer says. "If it goes too low, it becomes a blend and lower than that becomes a taper. Higher than that becomes a high and tight, which is client specific depending on their face and head shape."
Anyone with a fade knows it's only as good as the barber. So, how do you know when you've found a skilled barber? "A good barber will ask lots of questions when cutting a client's hair for the first time," says Waunie Neal, owner of Classic Cuts Barbershop in Rockford, Illinois with nearly two decades of barbering experience.
Even more crucial than assessing the client is having the proper equipment on hand. According to Tone McGill, Andis educator and owner of the Ultimate Barber Lounge in Charlotte, North Carolina, not using clippers designed for a client's natural hair texture can ruin a potentially good fade.
"It's all about the seamless progression of hair, the transition from lighter to darker," McGill says. "For straight hair, I'll go with a rotary motor clipper like the Andis Supra ZR. A magnetic motor clipper like the Andis Master is better suited for coarse or textured hair."
While many barbers shy away from revealing their exact technique, Neal insists that the key to a perfect fade is all in the wrist.
Taking it a step further, McGill says, "The best fades are executed by not putting a hard line in the hair. Not all barbers understand this concept, but it's maybe the most important part of getting a great fade."
A well-executed fade can instantly make anyone appear cooler, edgier and pulled together. Plus, fades generally require low maintenance depending on how fast the client's hair grows.
"The fade will never go out of style because it's multidimensional," Spencer says. "You can dress it up or down, which makes it easy to wear in the corporate world."
Although the fade stems from the military, the Black community elevated it with the hi-top, which helped to revive the original fade years later and make it more appealing to someone who may have never considered wearing it as an everyday style. In recent years, fades and undercuts have been adopted by many non-Black men. Think Brad Pitt, Justin Timberlake, Adam Levine, David Beckham, and Zayn Malik.
More universal than it was maybe 15 years ago, the fade is officially back. But, as we've seen in several past incidents, the trendier something becomes, the more its history gets lost in the process, especially when the trend is prominent in Black culture.
For instance, a 2014 BuzzFeed article featuring 27 predominantly white men with undercuts failed to give Black barbers their props when they're the ones who spent years perfecting the technique when fades and undercuts were no longer considered "in."
More recently, Cosmopolitan received backlash when they referred to an undercut worn by singer Madison Beer, who is White, as a hair tattoo and credited Allure for discovering the trend. Newsflash: Black folks, particularly women, have been rocking undercuts since forever. Take Salt-N-Pepa, Rihanna, Cassie and Kelis, for example. As expected, Cosmo's original post was later removed.
Even dating back to the success of Vanilla Ice's hit, "Ice Ice Baby," many Black folks accused the rapper, who donned a hi-top fade, of appropriating Black culture as hip hop was slowly becoming more mainstream.
Are certain hairstyles off limits to certain people? No. Can anyone wear what they want? Certainly. But, there's a difference between admiring an element of a group's culture and taking that same element, slapping a new name on it and selling it to the masses as something new. That's not how any of this works.
Princess Gabbara is a Michigan-based journalist whose work has been published in several national publications, including Jetmag.com, Essence.com, HelloBeautiful.com, BET.com, Huffington Post Women, and Sesi Magazine. Visit her site or follow her @PrincessGabbara.
In this article:black history, Detangling Our Roots, hairstyles, history
Lalah Hathaway Says Black History Lives Through Music
On This Day: We Celebrate the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
George Taliaferro, First Black Player Drafted by NFL, Dies at 91
London Breed Sworn in As First Black Female Mayor of San Francisco


Nestled in the Flint Hills, you'll find the Farm at Quail Valley; a privately-owned event center in Winfield, Kansas. The 3,000-square-foot event center is located within a mile of the Quail Ridge Golf Club and is conveniently near local hotels. The Farm provides a modern event center in a rustic setting perfect for weddings, seasonal events, receptions, reunions, corporate events and more!
No matter what you're celebrating, the Farm at Quail Valley is an ideal location to host indoor & outdoor events.
From our outdoor wedding venue to linens, bar service, and unique extras, we add finishing touches to make your event a success.
With a rustic barn & picturesque grounds, you'll want to explore every inch of this charming property.


Important! Are you happy for me to contact you?
I understand that the personal information I'm providing in this form will be used & stored in order to contact me.
Word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Wedding Blog, a previous wedding. Whichever it was, it'd be awesome to know!
If you've got any questions or would like to find out more, give me a shout! Please provide as much information as possible and I will come back to you as soon as I can.


Jenna Lyons exits J.Crew after 26 years as the all-American retailer's creative director, as it was reported to the Business of Fashion yesterday evening by J.Crew's headquarters.
Jenna Lyons' departure, who is one of America's most acclaimed designers, could be regarded as an emotional one, as seen in almost any social media account related to the fashion industry (The Man Repeller appears to be the one who is suffering most, describing Jenna Lyons as the woman who "made J.Crew cool').
Touching messages aside, in fact, this is an extremely interesting and worrisome turn for the brand at the same time, mainly for two different reasons. First and foremost, Lyons' legacy is part of J.Crew's very own style and signature aesthetics, as throughout her 26 years at the label Lyon truly managed to leave an imposing footprint her successors will have a hard time to even match. Secondly, J.Crew's decreasing sales are, at this point, no secret, and her departure could mean even more plummeting sales for the label.
According to the press note released by J.Crew, however, Lyons will keep on working with the label until the end of her contract, i.e. up until December 2017. She then will have to be subject to a year-long non-compete agreement, which means that she still has a few months to focus her creative input on something that could help J.Crew rise like a phoenix again.
While Jenna Lyons will remain J.Crew's creative advisor for less than a year now, J.Crew's reign will be held by J.Crew's former head of women's design Somsack Sikhounmuong, who just got promoted to chief design officer. "I put more pressure on me than anyone else can put pressure on me, that's the nature of the job I have and the nature of who I am,' J.Crew's Drexler chief executive officer Millard "Mickey' Drexler told WWD regarding Lyons' departure, Sikhounmuong's appointment and J.Crew's future.
With circa $1.5 billion debt coming due in 2018 and one of the most acclaimed designers stepping down from her position, J.Crew really needs to figure out how to get back its shoppers' trusts, now!


Applied Engineering was founded in 1983 by David M. Carter and Jeffrey C. Barker to provide complete Structural Engineering services to the central coast area.
We also provide construction design services to contractors for bridge falsework, excavation and construction shoring, structure retrofit projects, and cost reduction incentive projects.
Our projects range from custom single family residences to large institutional, commercial and industrial buildings to highway bridges.
Applied Engineering was founded in 1983 by David M. Carter and Jeffrey C. Barker to provide complete Structural Engineering services to the central coast area. Contact us today if you need a engineer for your project. We have experience and skills in a wide range of projects.
Our projects range from custom single family residences to large institutional, commercial and industrial buildings to highway bridges. We also provide construction design services to contractors for bridge falsework, excavation and construction shoring, structure retrofit projects, and cost reduction incentive projects.


QQQQQ#######QQQQQ    in channel ##slackware on Freenode IRC.
I provide several mirrors on this server (thanks to donations from several people who allow me to keep paying the rent).
Plus, I have up-to-date ISO images for slackware-current of the installation DVD as well as the Live Edition which are re-generated every time there is an update to slackware-current (I grab my mirror data from http://mirrors.kernel.org/slackware/ or http://slackware.osuosl.org/).
The DVD ISO images do not contain the package source code. This allows me to keep the ISO file size at roughly 2.5 GB.
The Live Edition will boot you straight into a fully functional 64bit Slackware-current development snapshot (see overview and documentation).


Returns the names of the XM2VTS groups. This is specific to this database which does not have separate training, development and evaluation sets.
The groups to which the clients belong either from ('dev', 'eval', 'world') or the specific XM2VTS ones from ('client', 'impostorDev', 'impostorEval') Note that 'dev', 'eval' and 'world' are alias for 'client'. If no groups are specified, then both clients are impostors are listed.
One of the Biosecurid protocols ('A').


text:
13 October 2006 Optimization of a UV light-emitting diode based fluorescence-phase sensor
A. Žukauskas; N. Kurilčik; P. Vitta; S. Juršėnas; E. Bakienė; R. Gaska
A. Žukauskas,1 N. Kurilčik,1 P. Vitta,1 S. Juršėnas,1 E. Bakienė,1 R. Gaska2
1Vilnius Univ. (Lithuania)
2Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (United States)
Proceedings Volume 6398, Optically Based Biological and Chemical Detection for Defence III; 63980Y (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.689907
Event: Optics/Photonics in Security and Defence, 2006, Stockholm, Sweden
A set of UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with the peak wavelengths ranging from 255 nm to 375 nm was applied for the investigation of spectral and decay-time fluorescence signatures in dry B. globigii spores and common airborne interferants (albuminous, epithelium, and cellulosous materials as well as aromatic hydrocarbons). The fluorescence decay signature was represented by a phase shift of the sinusoidal fluorescence waveform in respect of excitation provided by high-frequency modulated LEDs. The obtained data matrix was used for the optimization a bioparticle fluorescence sensor with a minimized number of excitation sources and detection channels and maximized discrimination ability of bioparticles against common interferants. Based on the optimization, a new concept for a UV LED based "detect-to-warn" bioparticle fluorescence sensor is proposed. The sensor contains a single deep-UV LED emitting at 280 nm that is harmonically modulated at a high frequency (of about 70 MHz) and a dual-channel fluorescence detector with the spectral windows peaked at 320 nm and 450 nm. The output parameters of the sensor are the ratio of the fluorescence intensity in the two windows and the phase shift of the fluorescence waveform in the 320-nm detection channel in respect of the excitation one. Such a sensing scheme has a smaller number of optical components and a potentially higher discrimination ability of bioparticles against common interferants in comparison with the conventional approach based on just fluorescence intensity measurement under dual-wavelength excitation (280 nm and 340 nm).
A. Žukauskas, N. Kurilčik, P. Vitta, S. Juršėnas, E. Bakienė, and R. Gaska "Optimization of a UV light-emitting diode based fluorescence-phase sensor", Proc. SPIE 6398, Optically Based Biological and Chemical Detection for Defence III, 63980Y (13 October 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.689907
Light emitting diodes
Phase shifts
Near ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light emitting diodes
Phase measurement
Deep ultraviolet
AlGaN-based deep-UV LEDs for fluorescence sensing
Research of fluorescence lifetime imaging technology based on heterodyne method...
Fiber-Optic Temperature Sensor Using Fluorescence Decay Time
Proceedings of SPIE (November 11 1984)
Phase-locked detection of fluorescence lifetime and its thermometric applications
All optical O2 sensors using innovative phase fluorimetry for monitoring...
Fluorescence Decay Temperature Sensor With Optimized Signal Processing
Proceedings of SPIE (September 14 1986)
Fluorescence lifetime identification of biological agents using deep ultraviolet light...
A. Žukauskas, N. Kurilčik, P. Vitta, S. Juršėnas, E. Bakienė, R. Gaska, "Optimization of a UV light-emitting diode based fluorescence-phase sensor," Proc. SPIE 6398, Optically Based Biological and Chemical Detection for Defence III, 63980Y (13 October 2006);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Honda Civic Materials & Workmanship Pros and Cons | Page 1 of 2 | Why Not This Car?
The aluminum wheels completely corroded within 3 years to the point of ugliness. Was told wheel condition was not covered by factory warranty in year 2, as the northeast ohio/ western pa winter road treatments are a corrosive nightmare.
Interior fit and finish is not great (but not terrible).
ie. A-pillar door seal is 'bent' to fit corner, it separates from the trim panel and there is a visible gap.
Compared with earlier Civic models, the interior trim looks cheaper/lighter, "de-contented". To be fair, other vehicle makes also have been doing the same to control costs, but it still looks a bit disappointing.
Ugly plastic, though very durable, looks cheap, chrome highlights that reflect sun into eyes.
Civics are tight and solid as the day I bought them even at 12 years and 200K mi on my 93, and 45K on the 05. Like new.
Two recalls- brake light switch from too much steering grease and rear wheel bearing from torn seal from factory!
Most cars look good in the showroom. It is over time that the differences in quality are exposed nakedly and beyond dispute. Personal experience and empirical evidence demonstrate the Civic will be squeak and groan free 5 and 10 years down the line.
Every surface mates great - inside and out. A little too much flat plastic inside (Mazdaspeed3 is so much better use of plastic).
This car is made very nice.
For this class of car the interior is nice, although not plush. The seats are generally firm and supportive. This car has a rigid, quality feel, and the body panels are tight.
The car was well built and they paid attention to detail. It is almost unpleasant to drive other cars because mine is so well designed.


text:
Report: C.J. Barksdale to leave Virginia Tech program
By Rob DausterJul 10, 2014, 1:15 PM EDT
Virginia Tech has lost a fifth member of last season's team.
C.J. Barksdale will not return to the Hokies next season, according to a report from the Washington Post on Thursday morning.
Forwards Trevor Thompson, Maurice Kirby and Marshall Wood and guard Ben Emegolou have already left the program this offseason, leaving just five scholarship players returning.
Buzz Williams has done a fine job turning over the roster, however. He's added four freshmen in the class of 2014 as well as a handful of transfers, and with a pair of scholarships still available in 2014-2015, he may not be done yet. Andrew White, a former Kansas wing, is a native of Richmond, Va., and reportedly on Virginia Tech's wishlist.


text:
PIPER CUB HOME > LUFTWAFFE CUBS
Piper Cubs of the Luftwaffe
A J-2 Cub, liberated from its service with the Luftwaffe, is parked in a covey of L-4s
Though the Germans had a superlative liaison plane in the Feissler Storch (Stork), the Luftwaffe also appreciated the merits of the lighter, cheaper Piper Cub, especially when one could be had for no cost as war booty.
The German army and air force stormed into Denmark on April 9, 1940. The Danes put up little military resistance, but the citizens immediately began a policy of non-cooperation and subversion that would last for the next four years. As one small part of this resistance, the Danes torched the Cub Aircraft Co. Ltd. factory, which had been set up in 1938 to assemble airplanes sent over from Lock Haven in kit form. (A number of these were actually Taylor Cubs, built in Bradford, Pa.) Altogether, Denmark imported 16 J-2s, 24 J-3s, and 8 J-4s, of which 32 were assembled before the German invasion. Apparently they were painted silver, with a blue Cub lightning flash.
At least one J-3 was flown to neutral Sweden to keep it out of German hands. This plane (shown at left in its present incarnation as SE-AIC) was s/n 2486, meaning that it was built at Lock Haven in 1938 as one of the first batch of true J-3s. It was delivered as a completed aircraft to a Danish ) customer in 1939. It belongs to Per Hallin and reportedly has J-2-style ailerons.
Thirteen partly-assembled Cubs were destroyed when the factory was set on fire. The destruction may not have been total, however, because two Cubs were supposedly completed in Denmark after the war.
Meanwhile, the Germans rounded up all the civilian Cubs they could find, including the J-2 shown at the top of the page after it was re-captured (and the paint touched up) by American forces. This plane has been identified as s/n 1319, formerly registered in Denmark as OY-DUP. A Taylor Cub built at Bradford in 1937, it was probably exported the same year and assembled in 1938. It seems to me that Piper supplied its Danish affiliate with Taylor-built J-2s and early-production J-3s, no doubt to make room for the new models at home. That would explain why SE-AIC appears to have J-2 ailerons.
Brandon Miller sent me that photo and the one below. His grandfather, George Reed Morris, was the pilot who liberated 1319 and flew her back to an American airfield. (He's the young man leaning against the Cub's prop at left.) In the process, Lt. Morris was almost shot down by an over-eager A-20 pilot, which may explain the plaintive 'Don't Shoot!' painted on the Cub's nose.
These are the Danish Cubs impressed into German service:
Taylor E-2 s/n 339 OY-DUL (Bradford)
Piper J-2 s/n 1155 OY-DAO (Lock Haven)
Piper J-2 s/n 1156 OY-DYN (Lock Haven)
Taylor J-2 s/n 1316 OY-DEP (Bradford)
Taylor J-2 s/n 1317 OY-DIP (Bradford)
Taylor J-2 s/n 1319 OY-DUP (Bradford)
Piper J-3 s/n 1163 OY-DUM (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 1995 OY-DIT (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 1998 OY-DAT (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2335 OY-DES (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2479 OY-DIS (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2480 OY-DYT (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2481 OY-DOT (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2485 OY-DUT (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2534 OY-DYR (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n 2583 OY-DUR (Lock Haven)
Piper J-3 s/n unkn OY-DOM (Lock Haven)
Piper J-4 s/n 4565 OY-DAV (Lock Haven)
In addition to the Danish-registered Cubs, a Lithuanian J-3 was also impressed into German service. Sources: A tip of the virtual hat to Roger Peperell and his invaluable book Piper Aircraft, to Emil Hauge in Cub Clues, to the website Luftwaffe Experten, and to Mattias Jönsson from Sweden.
Question? Comment? Newsletter? Send me an email. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
Other websites: the Warbird's Forum | Daniel Ford's books | Facebook | Sail Alaska's coast | Reading Proust
Posted July 2017. Websites ©1997-2017 Daniel Ford; all rights reserved.


text:
Commversation
Australian law firms defy pandemic amid intensifying fee pressure
Australian law firms have shrugged off fears of a contraction in revenue due to the coronavirus, recording rising year-on-year profits.
The latest CommBank Legal Market Pulse, has found almost eight in 10 law firms reported stable or rising profits in FY20 compared to FY19, with a mean profit increase of 7 per cent across the sector. Further growth of 5.5 per cent is expected in FY21. Among these firms, almost three in four also found maintaining cash flow to be easy or manageable.
A buoyant financial performance across the sector has allowed firms to largely retain their workforce. When comparing firms' staffing mix in January 2020 to their future intentions, the report reveals practically no change across all roles.
Alongside a focus on people, more than three in four firms are looking to step up their investment in technology over the next 12 months, with digital transformation remaining a top focus for firms. This will support the 93 per cent of firms expecting to offer more flexible and remote working options and 89 per cent that plan to deliver more service digitally.
Small businesses are innovating to survive
Millennials embrace telehealth consultations with general practitioners
New research identifies how financial institutions can better address economic and financial abuse
Firms' ongoing investment in people and technology indicates that the sector is positioning itself for the gradual rebound in business conditions and workflow. The report shows that while confidence fell sharply following the onset of the pandemic, firms expect short term uncertainty to give way to a strong rebound over two years.
Belinda Hegarty, National Head of Professional Services, Commonwealth Bank, said: "Despite the operational and financial disruption brought about by coronavirus, the Australian legal sector remains in great shape."
"While there is a lack of visibility around future business conditions and uncertainty among clients adding to fee pressures, a focus on people, technology and prudent cost controls are putting them in good stead as the recovery gets underway," Ms Hegarty said.
"We expect to see a continued focus on digital transformation that has followed years of investment in technology within the sector. This will help firms meet client expectations that legal services need to be delivered faster, more cost-effectively and add greater value than in the past."
While many in the sector are adapting well to the coronavirus, with 21 per cent of firms reporting a year-on-year fall in profits, the report shows that some firms are more resilient to disruption than others.
To understand the traits of more resilient firms, the report examined five criteria as an indicator of firms' ability to withstand the pressure of changing operating and market conditions. These included profit growth, maintaining cash flow, managing staff utilisation, adapting to remote work and firms' ability to compete.
The report found that just 38 per cent of firms met all five criteria of resilience. These firms were not only more confident about business conditions than their less resilient peers but stood out for their plans to invest in their workforce's training and development and to reward their contribution through higher salaries, as well as a focus on technology.
"More resilient firms have clearly led the way in adopting technology. They better understand its potential to help deliver services faster, simpler and cheaper, and to create new products and services. Years of steady investment in this area saw these firms smoothly switch to working remotely and delivering services digitally. Very few less resilient firms could claim the same," Ms Hegarty said.
CommBank Legal Market Pulse is a wide-ranging analysis of the Australian legal sector. The report is based on a quantitative survey of CEOs, Managing Partners and other senior leaders. Fifty-six law firms participated in the survey for this edition, carried out in September 2020 by Beaton Research + Consulting.
Click here for the 2020 Legal Market Pulse Report
Journalists can email media@cba.com.au or call us on +61 2 9118 6919
Sign up to receive the latest CBA media releases and announcements
Follow the latest CBA news as it breaks on @CBANewsroom


text:
\section{Introduction}

The non--linear properties of the quantum vacuum has become increasingly interesting (see e.g. Refs.\ \cite{DiPiazza1,Tiggelen,Zavattini,Rabadan,Blaschke,DiPiazza2,DiPiazza3} for some recent examples), in particular due to the rapidly growing power of present day laser systems \cite{Tajima,Mourou}. It is expected that already the next generation laser systems will reach intensities where quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects, such as electron--positron pair creation and elastic photon--photon scattering, will be directly observable \cite{Ringwald, Lundstrom}. These effects may even play an important role in future laser--plasma experiments \cite{Marklund}, e.g., in laser self focusing \cite{Bulanov, Shorokhov} where laser pulse compression could give rise to field strengths close to the critical field strength, $E_{\text{crit}}= m^2c^3/\hbar e \approx 10^{18}\ \mathrm{V/m}$, where $m$ is the electron rest mass, $c$ is the speed of light in vacuum, $\hbar$ is Planck's constant divided by $2\pi$, and $e$ is the magnitude of the electron charge. Furthermore, in astrophysical environments highly energetic phenomena may give rise to parameter ranges in which QED can be influential. One such example is pulsar magnetospheres \cite{Beskin} and magnetars \cite{Kouveliotou}. In the latter the magnetic fields can reach values above $10^{14}\,\mathrm{G}$, thus giving equivalent electric fields above the Schwinger limit. Thus, in such highly magnetized environments any plasma would be one--dimensional and local gamma-ray sources may be prolific.

These QED effects arise due to the intense electromagnetic field interacting with the quantum vacuum. By contrast, in this paper we have chosen to look for linear QED effects in plasma wave propagation when the intensity is low. Instead, the frequency is high such that short wavelength corrections may be important. The study is carried out for both plasma oscillations and for electromagnetic waves in an unmagnetized as well as a magnetized plasma. For high plasma densities or high frequency waves, it is found that the short wavelength QED corrections can give appreciable corrections to plasma oscillations and the propagation of extraordinary electromagnetic modes. We discuss possible applications of the results.

\section{Basic equations}

An effective theory for photon--photon scattering can be formulated trough the Heisenberg--Euler Lagrangian density \cite{Heisenberg-Euler, Schwinger}, which describes a vacuum perturbed with a constant electromagnetic field. It is valid for field strengths much lower than the critical field strength and for oscillation length scales much longer than the Compton wavelength. By adding derivative correction terms to the Lagrangian density, the effect of rapid field variations can be taken into account \cite{Mamaev-1981}. However, electron-positron pair creation is not included in this model, and thus the frequencies must still be much lower than the Compton frequency \cite{Marklund,probing} $\omega _{e} = mc^2/\hbar$, and the dispersive and diffractive effects must be small \cite{Rozanov-1998}. The Lagrangian density is
\begin{eqnarray}
	&&\!\!\!\!\!\!\mathcal{L}=\mathcal{L}_{0}+\mathcal{L}_{HE}+\mathcal{L}_{D} \notag \\ &&\!\!\!\!=\frac{\epsilon _{0}}{4}F_{ab}F^{ab}+\frac{\epsilon _{0}^{2}\kappa }{16}\left[ 4\left( F_{ab}F^{ab}\right) ^{2}+7\left( F_{ab}\hat{F}^{ab}\right) ^{2}\right] +\sigma \epsilon _{0}\left[ \left( \partial_{a}F^{ab}\right) \left( \partial _{c}F_{b}^{c}\right) -F_{ab}\Box
	F^{ab}\right]
\end{eqnarray}
where $\mathcal{L}_{0}$ is the classical Lagrangian density, while $\mathcal{L}_{HE}$ represents the Heisenberg--Euler correction due to first order non--linear QED effects, $\mathcal{L}_{D}$ is the derivative correction, $F^{ab}$ is the electromagnetic field tensor, $\widehat{F}^{ab}=\epsilon ^{abcd}F_{cd}/2$ and $\Box =\partial_{a}\partial ^{a}$. The parameter $\kappa =2\alpha ^{2}\hbar^{3}/45m^{4}c^{5}$ gives the non--linear coupling, the parameter $\sigma =(2/15)\alpha c^{2}/\omega _{e}^{2}$ gives the dispersive effects of the polarized vacuum, and $\alpha = e^2/4\pi \hbar c\epsilon_0$ is the fine structure constant, where $\epsilon_0$ is the free space permittivity. By introducing the four potential $A^{b}$ such that $F_{ab}=\partial _{a}A_{b}-\partial _{b}A_{a}$, we obtain the field equations from the Euler--Lagrange equations $\partial _{b}\left[\partial \mathcal{L}/\partial F_{ab}\right] =\mu _{0}j^{a}$ \cite{Rozanov-1998,Shukla-2004c},
\begin{equation*}
\left( 1+2\sigma \Box \right) \partial _{a}F^{ab}=2\epsilon_{0}\kappa \partial _{a}\left[ \left( F_{cd}F^{cd}\right) F^{ab}+\tfrac{7}{4} \left( F_{cd}\widehat{F}^{cd}\right) \widehat{F}^{ab}\right] + \mu_{0}j^{b},
\end{equation*}
where $j^a$ is the four--current and $\mu_{0}$ is the free space permeability.

We further assume that a high frequency low amplitude field is considered, such that the non--linear coupling can be neglected compared to the dispersive effects, i.e. the terms containing $\kappa $ is negligible compared to the terms containing $\sigma $. {To be more precise, we require that $\epsilon_0\kappa|F_{ab}|^2 \ll \sigma\omega^2/c^2$, i.e.\ $|F_{ab}|/E_{\mathrm{crit}} \ll \omega/\omega_e$, where $\omega$ is the frequency with which the field typically changes.}
The corresponding Maxwell equations resulting from the derivative corrected field equation then become
\begin{subequations}
\begin{eqnarray}
\left[ 1+2\sigma \left( \nabla ^{2}-\frac{1}{c^{2}}\frac{\partial ^{2}}{ \partial t^{2}}\right) \right]\nabla \cdot \mathbf{E} &=& \frac{\rho}{\epsilon_0}, \label{eq:E1a} \\
\left[ 1+2\sigma \left( \nabla ^{2}-\frac{1}{c^{2}}\frac{\partial ^{2}}{\partial t^{2}}\right) \right] \left( -\frac{1}{c^{2}}\frac{\partial \mathbf{E}}{\partial t}+\nabla \times \mathbf{B}\right) &=&\mu _{0}\mathbf{j}, \label{eq:E1d}
\end{eqnarray}
where $\rho $ is the total charge density and $\mathbf{j}$ is the current density, while the source-free Maxwell equations read $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{B} =0$ and
\begin{eqnarray}
\nabla \times \mathbf{E} &=&-\frac{\partial \mathbf{B}}{\partial t}. \label{eq:E1c}
\end{eqnarray}
\end{subequations}
The fluid continuity and force equations become
\begin{eqnarray}
\frac{\partial n_{e}}{\partial t}+\nabla\cdot \left( n_{e}\mathbf{V}_{e}\right) &=&0,\label{eq:E2} \\
\left(  \frac{\partial}{\partial t} + \mathbf{V}_{e}\cdot \nabla \right) \mathbf{V}_{e} &=&-\frac{e}{m}\left(\mathbf{E} + \mathbf{V}_{e}\times \mathbf{B} \right),\label{eq:E3}
\end{eqnarray}
where $n_{e}$ is the electron density and $\mathbf{V}_{e}$ is the electron fluid velocity. In order to clearly distinguish the QED effects, thermal effects will be neglected throughout this paper except in the discussion of plasma oscillations where they will be compared to the QED corrections. Since a finite temperature introduces dispersive effects for plasma oscillations, thermal plasma dynamics will compete with the QED corrections (See the Appendix). We note that thermal effects may be important in comparison to the QED corrections for other wave modes, but this is a topic for future research.

Since we focus on high frequency phenomena, the ion-motion is omitted. The charge density and the current density can then be written as
\begin{eqnarray}
\rho &=& -e(n_e - n_{i0}),\label{eq:E4} \\
\mathbf{j} &=&-en_{e}\mathbf{V}_{e},\label{eq:E5}
\end{eqnarray}
where $n_{i0}$ is the constant background ion density.

\section{Plasma oscillations}
Because of the simple classical dispersion relation for plasma oscillations, $\omega ^{2}=\omega _{p}^{2}$ for a cold plasma, the dispersive effects due to the QED derivative correction are easy to recognize. Below, we neglect thermal effects in our calculations. A complementary discussion where thermal effects are included in plasma oscillations is found in the Appendix. Linearizing Eqs. (\ref{eq:E1a}) and (\ref{eq:E2})--(\ref{eq:E4}) and Fourier decomposing gives us the dispersion relation
\begin{equation*}
\left[ 1-2\sigma \left( k^{2}-\frac{\omega ^{2}}{c^{2}}\right) \right] \omega ^{2}-\omega _{p}^{2}=0,
\end{equation*}
where $\omega _{p}\equiv \sqrt{e^{2}n_{0}/\epsilon _{0}m}$ is the plasma frequency. We normalize the parameters according to
\begin{equation*}
\bar{\sigma }=\frac{2\omega _{p}^{2}}{c^{2}}\sigma ,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\, \bar{K}^{2}=\frac{k^{2}c^{2}}{\omega _{p}^{2}},\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\, \bar{\omega }=\frac{\omega }{\omega _{p}}.
\end{equation*}
The dispersion relation is then written as
\begin{equation*}
\left[ 1-\bar{\sigma}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \right] \bar{\omega}^{2}-1=0.
\end{equation*}
The deviation from the classical result is illustrated in Fig.\ \ref{fig:Electrostatic}. It is seen that the for small wave numbers, $\bar{K}$, the solution follows the classical one (solid line), but the deviation becomes stronger as $\bar{K}$ increases. It is interesting to note that for sufficiently large $\bar{K}$, the phase velocity approaches that of the speed of light in vacuum, whereas in the classical case there would be no propagation at all. However, within this model the QED corrections must remain small such that the condition $\bar{\sigma}(\bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2})\ll 1$ holds.

\begin{figure}[H]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\columnwidth]{Electrostatic.eps}
\caption{Dispersion diagram for a plasma oscillations in a cold plasma for different values of $\bar{\sigma}$. The solid line is the classical dispersion diagram.}
\label{fig:Electrostatic}
\end{figure}

\section{Electromagnetic wave in an unmagnetized plasma}
Linearizing Eqs. (\ref{eq:E1d}), (\ref{eq:E1c}), (\ref{eq:E3}) and (\ref{eq:E5}) and Fourier analysing, the normalized dispersion relation is
\begin{eqnarray}\label{eq:emdisp}
	\left[ 1-\bar{\sigma}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \right] \left( \bar{\omega}^{2}-\bar{K}^{2}\right) -1=0.
\end{eqnarray}
Using the normalized phase velocity $\bar{v}$, where $\bar{v}=\bar{\omega}/\bar{K}=v_{\phi }/c$, where $v_{\phi }$ is the phase velocity, we can write the dispersion relation as
\begin{equation*}
\left[ 1-\left( \bar{\sigma}\bar{\omega}^{2}+1\right) \bar{\omega}^{2}\right] \bar{v}^{4}+\left(1+2\bar{\sigma}\bar{\omega}^{2}\right)\bar{\omega}^{2}\bar{v}^2-\bar{\sigma}\bar{\omega}^{4} {=0},
\end{equation*}
which has two distinct solutions. From Fig.\ \ref{fig:Electromagnetic}, it is clearly seen that one of the solutions gives the classical limit when $\bar{\sigma} \rightarrow 0$. For small $\bar{\omega }$, the other root can approximately be written as $\bar{v}^2\approx \bar{\sigma}\bar{\omega}^{2}$ to the lowest non--vanishing order. But $\bar{v}^2=\bar{\omega}^{2}/\bar{K}^{2}$, which implies that $\bar{K}^{2}\approx 1/\bar{\sigma}$, and this violates the condition $\bar{\sigma }(\bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega }^{2})\ll 1$, i.e., the dispersive effects are no longer small. For this reason, the non--classical root to the dispersion relation is found to be a non--physical one.

\begin{figure}[H]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\columnwidth]{Electromagnetic_phase.eps}
\caption{The $\bar{v}^{2}=v_{\phi}^{2}/c^{2}$ vs. $\bar{\omega}$ dispersion diagram for an electromagnetic wave in an unmagnetized plasma. The dotted line is a non--physical solution to (\ref{eq:emdisp}). The solid line is the classical dispersion diagram.}
\label{fig:Electromagnetic}
\end{figure}

The effect of the corrections due to a rapidly varying field is to dislocate the cut--off frequency to a slightly lower frequency. The shift in frequency is very small and does not become significant until $\bar{\sigma}$ is much larger than allowed in our model. Thus, we can say that within this model, an electromagnetic wave in a unmagnetized plasma is virtually unaffected by the short wavelength QED correction.

\section{Electromagnetic wave, $\mathbf{B}\left\|\mathbf{k}\right.$}
Next we look at wave propagation parallel to an external magnetic field, $\mathbf{B}_{0}=B_{0}\hat{\mathbf{z}}$, where the electric field is circularly polarized,
\begin{equation*}
\mathbf{E}_{1}=\tilde{E}_{1}(\hat{\mathbf{x}}\pm i\hat{\mathbf{y}})\exp(ikz-i\omega t).
\end{equation*}Linearizing Eqs. (\ref{eq:E1d}), (\ref{eq:E1c}), (\ref{eq:E3}) and (\ref{eq:E5}) we find the normalized dispersion relation to be
\begin{equation*}
1=\left( \bar{\omega}\pm \bar{\Omega}\right) \left[ 1-\bar{\sigma}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \right] \left( \bar{\omega}-\bar{K}^{2}/\bar{\omega}\right) ,
\end{equation*}
where $\bar{\Omega}=\omega _{c}/\omega _{p}$, $\omega _{c}\equiv -eB_{0}/m$ is the electron gyro frequency and the +(--) sign means a right hand circularly polarized wave (left hand circularly polarized wave), also called \textit{R}--wave (\textit{L}--wave). The dispersion relation can also be expressed in terms of the normalized phase velocity $\bar{v}$ according to
\begin{equation*}
\left[ 1-\left( \bar{\sigma}\bar{\omega}^{2}+1\right) \left( \bar{\omega}\pm \bar{\Omega}\right) \bar{\omega}\right] \bar{v}^{4}+\left( 1+2\bar{\sigma} \bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \left( \bar{\omega}\pm \bar{\Omega}\right) \bar{\omega}\bar{v}^2-\bar{\sigma}\bar{\omega}^{3}\left( \bar{\omega}\pm \bar{\Omega}\right) =0.
\end{equation*}

In the limit of no magnetic field ($\bar{\Omega}\rightarrow 0$), the dispersion relation simply becomes that of an electromagnetic wave propagating in a unmagnetized plasma, (\ref{eq:emdisp}), which had a non--physical root. The corresponding non--physical root has been disregarded in Fig.\ \ref{fig:Lwave} and Fig.\ \ref{fig:Rwave}.

The effect of the corrections due to a rapidly varying field is again to dislocate the cut--off frequency of the \textit{R}-wave and the \textit{L}--wave to a slightly lower frequency. Even though the effect is more pronounced for the \textit{R}-wave than for the \textit{L}-wave, see Fig.\ \ref{fig:Lwave} and Fig.\ \ref{fig:Rwave}, it is still very small.

\begin{figure}[H]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\columnwidth]{Lwave.eps}
\caption{The $\bar{v}^{2}=v_{\phi}^{2}/c^{2}$ vs. $\bar{\omega}$ dispersion diagram for an $L$--wave. The solid line is the classical dispersion diagram.}
\label{fig:Lwave}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[H]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\columnwidth]{Rwave.eps}
\caption{The $\bar{v}^{2}=v_{\phi}^{2}/c^{2}$ vs. $\bar{\omega}$ dispersion diagram for an $R$--wave. The solid line is the classical dispersion diagram.}
\label{fig:Rwave}
\end{figure}

\section{Electromagnetic wave, $\mathbf{B}\bot\mathbf{k}$ ($X$--wave)}
We now consider an electromagnetic wave propagating orthogonal to the magnetic field of a magnetized plasma, such that the electric field oscillates orthogonal to the external magnetic field ($X$--wave). Linearizing Eqs (\ref{eq:E1d}), (\ref{eq:E1c}), (\ref{eq:E3}) and (\ref{eq:E5}) we find the normalized dispersion relation to be
\begin{eqnarray}\label{eq:dispXwave}
\left\{ 1-\bar{\omega}^{2}\left[ 1-\bar{\sigma}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \right] \right\} \left\{ 1+\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \left[ 1-\bar{\sigma}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \right] \right\} + &&  \notag  \label{eq:dispBorto} \\+\bar{\Omega}^{2}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \left[ 1-\bar{\sigma}\left( \bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2}\right) \right] ^{2} &=&0.
\end{eqnarray}
In the limit of no magnetic field ($\bar{\Omega} \rightarrow 0$), the dispersion relation becomes a product of that for plasma oscillations and that for an electromagnetic wave in a unmagnetized plasma. The corresponding non--physical root of (\ref{eq:dispXwave}) has been disregarded in Fig. \ref{fig:Bortodisp}.

The solutions of (\ref{eq:dispBorto}) are easily identified with the two classical ones (solid lines) in Fig.\ \ref{fig:Bortodisp}. As can be seen, the high frequency branch does not significantly deviate from the classical one. However, the deviation is more pronounced for the low frequency branch. While it is not explicitly shown in Fig.\ \ref{fig:Bortodisp}, it should be noted that the QED induced effects depend only weakly on the external magnetic field. In Fig.\ \ref{fig:Bortodisp}, this solution has been plotted for different values of the normalized dispersive parameter, $\bar{\sigma}$. It is interesting to note that the short wavelength correction removes the stop band of the $X$--wave.

\begin{figure}[H]
\includegraphics[width=0.5\columnwidth]{Bortodisp.eps}
\caption{Dispersion diagram for an $X$--wave for different values of $\bar{\sigma}$. The solid line is the classical dispersion diagram.}
\label{fig:Bortodisp}
\end{figure}

\section{Summary and discussion}
In this paper we have investigated how the short wavelength QED correction affects plasma wave propagation in both a unmagnetized and a magnetized plasma. In order to concentrate on the effects associated with the QED corrections, we have chosen to consider the simple case of a cold plasma. Furthermore, the field amplitude is assumed to be small such that the nonlinear effects can be neglected. The dispersive effects due to the short wavelength QED correction is found to be small but well pronounced for plasma oscillations, Fig.\ \ref{fig:Electrostatic}, and $X$--waves, Fig.\ \ref{fig:Bortodisp}, for sufficiently large wavenumbers, whereas the effect is less pronounced for parallel propagating $R$-- and $L$--waves, Fig.\ \ref{fig:Rwave} and Fig.\ \ref{fig:Lwave}, and electromagnetic waves in a unmagnetized plasma, Fig.\ \ref{fig:Electromagnetic}. We know that the condition $\bar{\sigma}(\bar{K}^{2}-\bar{\omega}^{2})\ll 1$ and $\omega \ll \omega _{e}$ must be satisfied, for our model to be applicable, with $\bar{\sigma}\approx (1/500)(\omega _{p}^{2}/\omega _{e}^{2})$. For all of the waves considered above, except for $R$--waves, we learn from the dispersion diagrams that $\omega \geq \omega _{p}$ always, at least for sufficiently large wavenumbers $\bar{K}$. Thus, for sufficiently dense plasmas, we will reach parameter ranges where the dispersive QED effects become large. The highest plasma densities on earth are found in laser fusion experiments where the density can reach values as high as $n_{0}\approx 10^{28}\,\text{cm}^{-3}$ \cite{icf}, giving $\omega _{p}\approx 0.01\omega_{e}$. For such plasma densities, the dispersive parameter becomes, $\bar{\sigma}\approx 2\times 10^{-7}$. Detection of these QED corrections must therefore be done in the extreme short wave limit $\bar{K}\gg 1$ or with very high precision. The phase shift of a laser beam can be measured with extremely high precision through interferometry \cite{interferometry}. Also, by using a experimental setup consisting of a standing wave in a plasma, the phase shift at each pass through the plasma can be accumulated, thus enhancing the total phase shift to be measured. However, to single out the dispersive QED effects from the general dispersive effects of a plasma requires detailed knowledge of the plasma parameters for such an experiment to be conclusive. In this respect the conditions in laser fusion experiments are not suitable, due to the rapid change of plasma density. For lower plasma densities, a fairly high stability of the plasma conditions could compensate for the even smaller value of $\bar{\sigma}$ to make a high precision experiment possible. In an experiment, the plasma parameters may either be determined with independent measuring techniques, but it might also be possible to extract information about the plasma by measuring the phase shift for different frequencies or polarizations. In this case, thermal effects may be of importance (see the Appendix), and the inclusion of such is therefore of interest for future research. How to extract the phase information and how to construct a scheme to detect the QED short wave corrections is nontrivial and requires extensive work.

\acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Swedish Research Council Contract No. 621-2004-3217.

\section{Appendix}

In order to highlight the QED effects we have considered the simple case of a cold plasma in the manuscript. However, since the QED effects in most cases are small corrections, typically even very low temperatures give a comparatively large contribution to the dispersion relations studied, except for wave modes that have density perturbations that are identically zero. To illustrate the relative contribution from QED and thermal effects, we reconsider the case of plasma oscillations by adding a pressure term {$-\nabla P/mn_e$} to the right hand side of Eq. (\ref{eq:E3}). Proceeding as in section III, we linearize the pressure term according to $-\nabla P/mn_e=-v_{t}^{2}\nabla n_{e}/n_0$ (where deviation from isothermal behavior is incorporated in the definition of $v_{t}^{2}$), and the dispersion relation is then modified to
\begin{equation*}
\left[ 1+2\sigma \left(\frac{\omega ^{2}}{c^{2}} - k^{2}\right) \right]\left(\omega ^{2}-k^{2}v_{t}^{2}\right)=\omega_{p}^{2},
\end{equation*}
which (given  $\sigma (\omega^2/c^2-k^{2})\ll 1$) can be approximated by
\begin{equation*}
\omega ^{2}=\omega_p^2\left[ 1-2\sigma \left(\frac{\omega ^{2}}{c^{2}} - k^{2}\right) \right]+k^{2}v_{t}^{2}.
\end{equation*}
In the regime where Landau damping is small, $kv_{t}\ll \omega _{p}$, we can
omit the therm proportional to both QED and thermal corrections and write to
first order
\begin{equation*}
\omega ^{2}=\omega _{p}^{2}\left( 1-\frac{2\sigma \omega _{p}^{2}}{c^{2}}%
\right) +k^{2}\left( v_{t}^{2}+2\sigma\omega_p^2 \right) .
\end{equation*}
Thus the QED effects give a relative frequency shift $2\sigma \omega
_{p}^{2}/c^{2}$ of the plasma frequency, and a modification of the group
velocity of the Langmuir waves  proportional to $2\sigma\omega_p^2 /v_{t}^{2}$. We
note that the group velocity shift is a small parameter for any reasonable
plasma temperature. This suggests that in order to avoid confusion with
small temperature fluctuations in a possible detection scheme of the QED
effects, it might be preferable to look for a small shift in plasma
frequency, rather than the group velocity shift.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


I'm so into the odd .. and this receives extra odd-points!
Even with issues, this is a great idea, great title. Loveit!
POST-IT Challenges across the world!
Would love to see other countries / states do the same!
and even to have ourself be sponsored by Post-IT ?
Sprites are good, bushes and stones are good as well.
I second Leel on the leaves. It looks more like grass.
Maybe use the same effects you have done on the bushes?
The treetrunks are a bit straight.
one and checked this out again. Sorry about the ruling.
the challenge has prompted you into drawing something.
stuck in my mind. Which is always good for art!
is bothering me a bit. But apart from that I really like the overall atmosphere.
The ape and crocodile are my favorites!
I like the style of this one and the other one you uploaded.
is moving around and the circle loses its arc.
M.E. @ 4/11/2008 13:23 commented on Dex experiences gravity!
Great Icons. But the fourth is a bit hard to 'read'.
Nice effects. You did well with the front lightning.
side and see if it gains more depth?!?
M.E. @ 4/9/2008 22:56 commented on How do I get down?
you can have a look at the mountains?
Doens't really match the quality of the rest!
Favorite. The cows to blame!
Good one, but I would loose the teeth!
Good work. Especially the uppercut!
you to make your own work!
the snakes. Awesome to get all this into the little canvas.
6/6 and Favd! Tough to beat in the competition!
Proportion-wise there are some things you can change.
pretty ok, I would make the eyes smaller and lower.
I compliment you on the hands. They are really nicely done!
M.E. @ 1/16/2008 12:50 commented on Rock! Verano Bot!
Not sure .. maybe you can give it a try?!?
M.E. @ 1/16/2008 00:02 commented on Rock! Verano Bot!
object on the left upper corner. It confuses M.E.
Like this a lot, but I have to agree with the others.
I care less for the headsize, which is a valid comment!
and the rest (hair, other clothes) does not move.
I'm sure that this will raise to awesomeness!


text:
WCAG 2.1 Understanding Docs
Informative explanations, not required to meet WCAG
About WCAG Understanding Docs
All Understanding Docs
Guideline: Keyboard Accessible
Next SC: No Keyboard Trap
Understanding SC 2.1.1:Keyboard (Level A)
Success Criterion (SC)
All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes, except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user's movement and not just the endpoints.
This exception relates to the underlying function, not the input technique. For example, if using handwriting to enter text, the input technique (handwriting) requires path-dependent input but the underlying function (text input) does not.
This does not forbid and should not discourage providing mouse input or other input methods in addition to keyboard operation.
The intent of this Success Criterion is to ensure that, wherever possible, content can be operated through a keyboard or keyboard interface (so an alternate keyboard can be used). When content can be operated through a keyboard or alternate keyboard, it is operable by people with no vision (who cannot use devices such as mice that require eye-hand coordination) as well as by people who must use alternate keyboards or input devices that act as keyboard emulators. Keyboard emulators include speech input software, sip-and-puff software, on-screen keyboards, scanning software and a variety of assistive technologies and alternate keyboards. Individuals with low vision also may have trouble tracking a pointer and find the use of software much easier (or only possible) if they can control it from the keyboard.
Examples of "specific timings for individual keystrokes" include situations where a user would be required to repeat or execute multiple keystrokes within a short period of time or where a key must be held down for an extended period before the keystroke is registered.
The phrase "except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user's movement and not just the endpoints" is included to separate those things that cannot reasonably be controlled from a keyboard.
Most actions carried out by a pointing device can also be done from the keyboard (for example, clicking, selecting, moving, sizing). However, there is a small class of input that is done with a pointing device that cannot be done from the keyboard in any known fashion without requiring an inordinate number of keystrokes. Free hand drawing, watercolor painting, and flying a helicopter through an obstacle course are all examples of functions that require path dependent input. Drawing straight lines, regular geometric shapes, re-sizing windows and dragging objects to a location (when the path to that location is not relevant) do not require path dependent input.
The use of MouseKeys would not satisfy this Success Criterion because it is not a keyboard equivalent to the application; it is a mouse equivalent (i.e., it looks like a mouse to the application).
It is assumed that the design of user input features takes into account that operating system keyboard accessibility features may be in use. For example, modifier key locking may be turned on. Content continues to function in such an environment, not sending events that would collide with the modifier key lock to produce unexpected results.
People who are blind (who cannot use devices such as mice that require eye-hand coordination)
People with low vision (who may have trouble finding or tracking a pointer indicator on screen)
Some people with hand tremors find using a mouse very difficult and therefore usually use a keyboard
Example 1: A drawing Program.
A drawing program allows users to create, size, position and rotate objects from the keyboard.
Example 2: A drag and Drop Feature.
An application that uses drag and drop also supports "cut" and "paste" or form controls to move objects.
Example 3: Moving between and connecting discrete points.
A connect-the-dots program allows the user to move between dots on a screen and use the spacebar to connect the current dot to the previous one.
Example 4: Exception - Painting Program.
A watercolor painting program passes as an exception because the brush strokes vary depending on the speed and duration of the movements.
Example 5: Exception - Model helicopter flight training simulator.
A model helicopter flight training simulator passes as an exception because the nature of the simulator is to teach real-time behavior of a model helicopter.
Example 6: A PDA with an optional keyboard
A PDA device that is usually operated via a stylus has an optional keyboard that can be attached. The keyboard allows full Web browsing in standard fashion. The Web content is operable because it was designed to work with keyboard-only access.
Each numbered item in this section represents a technique or combination of techniques that the WCAG Working Group deems sufficient for meeting this Success Criterion. However, it is not necessary to use these particular techniques. For information on using other techniques, see Understanding Techniques for WCAG Success Criteria, particularly the "Other Techniques" section.
Sufficient Techniques
G202: Ensuring keyboard control for all functionality
Ensuring keyboard control by using one of the following techniques.
H91: Using HTML form controls and links
PDF3: Ensuring correct tab and reading order in PDF documents
PDF11: Providing links and link text using the Link annotation and the /Link structure element in PDF documents
PDF23: Providing interactive form controls in PDF documents
G90: Providing keyboard-triggered event handlers using one of the following techniques:
SCR20: Using both keyboard and other device-specific functions
SCR35: Making actions keyboard accessible by using the onclick event of anchors and buttons
SCR2: Using redundant keyboard and mouse event handlers
Advisory Techniques
Although not required for conformance, the following additional techniques should be considered in order to make content more accessible. Not all techniques can be used or would be effective in all situations.
Using XHTML role, state, and value attributes if repurposing static elements as interactive user interface components (future link) AND SCR29: Adding keyboard-accessible actions to static HTML elements
The following are common mistakes that are considered failures of this Success Criterion by the WCAG Working Group.
F54: Failure of Success Criterion 2.1.1 due to using only pointing-device-specific event handlers (including gesture) for a function
F55: Failure of Success Criteria 2.1.1, 2.4.7, and 3.2.1 due to using script to remove focus when focus is received
F42: Failure of Success Criteria 1.3.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.3, or 4.1.2 when emulating links
processes and outcomes achievable through user action
keyboard interface
interface used by software to obtain keystroke input
A keyboard interface allows users to provide keystroke input to programs even if the native technology does not contain a keyboard.
A touchscreen PDA has a keyboard interface built into its operating system as well as a connector for external keyboards. Applications on the PDA can use the interface to obtain keyboard input either from an external keyboard or from other applications that provide simulated keyboard output, such as handwriting interpreters or speech-to-text applications with "keyboard emulation" functionality.
Operation of the application (or parts of the application) through a keyboard-operated mouse emulator, such as MouseKeys, does not qualify as operation through a keyboard interface because operation of the program is through its pointing device interface, not through its keyboard interface.
series of user actions where each action is required in order to complete an activity
Successful use of a series of Web pages on a shopping site requires users to view alternative products, prices and offers, select products, submit an order, provide shipping information and provide payment information.
An account registration page requires successful completion of a Turing test before the registration form can be accessed.


text:
The Last Homework Assignment, a zine; HOW TO BE A BADASS: A Rebel Grrrls Field Guide to Self-Reliance
[ed note] I copy and pasted this from the word document that I used to create the physical zine. Today as I was in the blog post's editing mode I noticed some kooky formatting that automagically rearranged some content and changed words into nonsense. It seems that a browser extension I've been trying, Grammerly, "fixes" things on it's own. I hope I have corrected all of it's magical "corrections" and gotten this post back to a place where the order of the words make some sense.
HOW TO BE A BADASS:
A Rebel Grrrl's
To Self-reliance
Dear Readers;
This zine, HOW TO BE A BAD ASS: A Rebel Grrrls Field Guide To Self-Reliance, was conceived of and written as a final project for the undergraduate Art of Moving Image class, Punk Rock Cinema, at Duke University. I took the class for fun during my final semester of graduate school while completing the Experimental & Documentary Arts, Master of Fine Art program. It is, in brief, a light homework assignment with objectives and expected outcomes which you will probably feel as you read through. I took this class purely and most simply because I am culturally punk rock and I wanted to see what would be presented in the class. I wondered if we would be made accomplices in academicizing punk music and culture, I wondered who had already contributed to the discourse of the punkademics, and I was really curious to learn what made filmmakers or their films punk. Am I a punk filmmaker? (Apparently so, and I'm cool with that.)
In the context of the class we considered many films I hold dear and some stuff I'd only learned of through this coursework, including:
The Yes Men Fix The World (2009)
The Filth and the Fury – Julien Temple (2000)
Punk Rock Home Movie – Greta Snider (1989)
The Decline of Western Civilization – Penelope Spheeris (1981)
Instrument – Jem Cohen (1999)
Zéro de Conduite – Jean Vigo (1933)
Another State of Mind - Adam Small, Peter Stuart (1984)
My Beautiful Laundrette – Stephen Frears (1986)
Removed – Naomi Uman (1999)
Spectres of the Spectrum – Craig Baldwin (1999)
Who Is Bozo Texino – Bill Daniel (2005)
New Wave Theater – Peter Ivers, David Jove (1980-3)
Living Inside (et al.) - Sadie Benning (1989)
The Punk Singer – Sini Anderson (2013)
The Target Shoots First – Chris Wilcha (2000)
The Other F Word – Andrea Nevins (2011)
In a punkier than thou kind of way, I will say that I have seen most of these film as they were released, with a few exceptions of films that were presented as examples of filmmakers who embody some sort of punk cultural ideals, present cultural conflicts related to punk, and or were political sparks that may have ignited punk's fire.
Readings for this class came out of The Subcultures Reader, edited by Ken Gelder, from which we read early attempts at placing punk culture on some kind of sociological spectrum, peeling back the layers of what makes punk, punk; other readings came out of, Lipstick Traces, by Griel Marcus, peppered together with essays by Mimi Thi Nguyen including, Riot Grrrl, Race, and Revival (2012), and It's (Not) a White World: Looking for Race in Punk (1998), I read Minor Threats (2015) as well, just because. For funtimes I read Sarah Jaffe's essay, Difficult Fun (2015), and Maria Elena Buszek's, Punkademia (2015).
I'm on the fence about talking about punk culture in this particular context, I love that we're enculturating new kids to the big picture of punk, but I am uncomfortable with placing punk in an academic setting.
WHEN SHE TALKS I HEAR THE REVOLUTION
In my consideration of making a zine, I thought initially it would be a piece of cake. I had an audience of exactly 15 classmates, the TA, and the professor. I knew damn well that most of my classmates would not read the zine, and the couple who would read it were likely to be young women, so I collected my thoughts and ideas specifically addressing young ladies.
This document is not intended to be an all-inclusive process document for being radically self-reliant, but a light scratch at the surface of introducing Do It Yourself cultural practices as they pertain to y'all in the world today. When I did an Internet search for "DIY" the results looked like a Pinterest board of highly stylized craft projects using all new materials. While constructing kits is DIY, I'm more into the idea of making useful stuff out of other stuff you aren't using for it's intended purpose anymore, stuff you have lying around your home. I also address fixing and preserving your stuff rather than discarding it and buying second-hand clothes rather than new stuff as a way to have direct participation in knowing where your money goes in the scheme of corporate conglomerations.
In issue #1 I introduce you to Ask Your Aunty, a section in which a bunch of really rad women answer the question, "What do you wish someone had told you about the world when you were younger?" Their answers are empowering and frank. For future issues, I hope that you will write in with questions to Ask Your Aunty, send your inquiries to how.to.be.a.baddass@gmail.com (the extra d is correct).
So what's my skin in the game? Who am I? What business do I have talking about punk ethos or self-reliance or whatever? I've considered myself to be punk since I was about 12 or so, that seems to be about the right age for self-awareness and independence building; both of my parents are super outdoorsy, and exceptionally skilled at their chosen crafts, both of them insisted that I be a functional problem solver, one of them instilled in me a disdain for corporate greed and insisted that I be self-employed, together they made sure I knew how to make, fix and reuse all of my own stuff. As a grown ass woman I started going to Burning Man, the fine people there codified something called the 10 Principles, which really resonated with how I move through the world. I'm not going to repeat them here, but I will invite you to look them up and consider them for yourself. I would never claim to be an expert on anything, that's just not how I choose to label myself, and I'm uncomfortable when others call me an expert, I do however have a really interesting and diverse array of life experiences that I think make me a pretty interesting and well-rounded person.
I want to empower readers to try stuff, fail at stuff, work at stuff, and practice doing whatever it is that turns your crank. Burning Man Founder, and mentor, Crimson Rose has this to say, "Anyway someone can be empowered by what they're doing is so incredibly important, and actually helps the world become a better place. "
So let us poke at this squirmy thing and see what happens.
WHAT IS A BADASS?
IMNSHO I think being a badass is no so much about a look, though it can be, but about what you do. Someone who dares to be authentic, whatever that means to them. It can be looking, however, the hell you want to present, whether you're khaki tan socks Plain J, or into leather pants, whatever. Someone who dares to really say what they mean and conducts themselves as they see fit. That's all bound to be pretty fucking badass.
It's knowing the rules so you know how to break them and is then acting with intention.
A badass likes what they like and can defend their likes with reasoned intelligence, without being an asshole. A badass can love some fluffy candy pop as well as that one Rush album, and be deft at whiskey tunes and know that Bey is the shit and maybe even doesn't really like Tribe 8 and that's ok. A badass is not afraid to sing out of tune.
Badasses speak up. If something ain't right a badass says so. If something is great, a badass says so.
It's not giving any fucks.
And giving fucks where fucks are needed.
A badass takes on challenges head on, figuring out the messy bits with agility and is cool with making mistakes along the way. Courage is badass.
A badass shares what they know. They have compelling, practiced and successful skill sets and are willing to teach others.
DIY Reusable Shopping BagMade with an old t-shirt
Do you live in a community that still uses plastic shopping bags, some have argued that the plastic bags already exist so why not use them? Meh. Lame. Let's work together towards reusable when and where we can. Don't have or don't want to spend the cash on reusable bags? Making reusable bags out of old t-shirts is super easy. The more bags you have, the more bags you will reuse and the less plastic you're using, and the less waste you're generating.
Step 1: cut the arms and neck out of an old shirt.
Step 2: Sew the bottom closed.
Step 3: Use awesome new bag.
If you don't have a sewing machine to bang out that straight stitch along the bottom of the shirt, you can easily sew by hand using a running stitch, an overcast whip stitch or blanket stitch to close up and reinforce the bottom of the shirt.
DO IT YOUR (badass) SELF!
DIY, yeah, Do It Your Self! Radical Self-Reliance. It's a nice idea, but what does it really mean, and how far can you really take it without becoming a "prepper" what're are the differences between the radical punk ethos of doing it yourself and being one of those weirdo survivalists living in the hills chopping wood and carrying water?
Back when I was a kid being a punk was living way outside of social norms, there were no stores to get all your cute punk rock gear, we couldn't get our bold hair colors at the supermegagrocerydepartment store. It was hard, and it built a certain character. Now I'm not saying "kids of today" are missing anything more than a little grit in their character for having an easier time pulling their look together. But there really is something to learning how to take care of yourself; your stuff and having the self-satisfaction of being able to make your own gear for whatever adventures you're looking to embark upon.
So what really is DIY beyond doing it yourself, we know that is it assembling kits, problem-solving your needs in an Iron Chef sort of way? Are the things that DIY so rad in the same family as the "Maker" scene? Is the maker scene something that's been branded for a certain flavor of nerd? DIY, punk, burner, maker, prepper, radical self-reliance knows no social boundaries.
What the heck do I mean by radical self-reliance?
Can your fix your transportation yourself? Simple basics skills like changing a tire and adjusting finicky mechanical bits will empower you a great deal, and count towards being radically self-reliant. Do you know what that funny sound or smell is and how to fix it?
Can you sew? Sewing is a life skill, from simple mending, buttons, and hems, patches or seam repair to making your own clothes. You can make your own bras and panties, which is totally liberating!
Can you cook? Do you know your way around your kitchen, know the basics of measurements, the chemistry of salt and sugar in your baked goods? Do you know the components of balanced nutrition?
Can you build a fire? You can heat your environment, dry your clothes, and cook for yourself on a small fire.
What's so fucking punk about that shit? Changing tires and building fires! I don't need to sew my own bras, I can easily walk into just about any supermegagrocerydepartment store and buy a new one!
Ah, yes. Buy more stuff. DIY empowers you to make new shit out of your old shit, fix the shit you have and, transmorgify merely OK shit into outstandingly rad shit.
Making your own stuff is crazy empowering. Even if what you're making is a little janky around the edges, you made it. Radical self-reliance, and maybe a little bit of radical self-congratulations are in order.
DIY in all it's flavors creates agency and social capital, but what the hell does having agency mean?
At it's most basic it means that someone has the ability to act independently and make their own choices with free will.
I'm pretty sure most of us think we already do that. But do we really?
When we go to the supermegagrocerydepartment store we have choices, often too many, and we're confronted with deciding which thing you will choose from the selection at hand. That's not quite "agency" as I mean it here. Although it can empower agency!
If I went to the supermegagrocerydepartment store looking for clothes to make myself presentable to the public, but nothing fits my body, or suits my personal style, but I see things I kind of like—a detail from this, the shape of that, the material of this thing. As I walk around I pieced together something I would like to wear if it existed, designing, scheming, taking an inventory of what I have at home that I can transform. In this scenario, I would go home, find things that I haven't worn in a while or that I don't quite like anymore and remake them into something new that fits great and looks amazing. THAT is having some agency.
Taking charge of what you're wearing is a huge and important step on the path of Radical Self Reliance. To take it a step further, you can teach your friends what you learned while crafting your own agency.
Going home and making what you want to wear is empowering to you and your sense of style, sure thing jellybean, and it also stops your money from entering the hands of huge conglomerates and sweatshop clothing manufacturers. And this is where your agency starts getting, practical, political and punk as fuck. When you take charge of the direction your money flows, you are totally punk. How far you're willing to take this idea is totally up to you and your comfort levels. Personal sustainability is a challenging commitment, and I think it's really difficult to go all the way when we do live in municipalities with systems and unavoidable public works facility resources. There's nothing saying you have to go all the way, but it's a lot of fun taking charge of your own shit and spending your hard earned mullah on things you want to support, and care about.
Now I'm not saying you need to make your own menstrual pads, but I am asking why not consider it? I'm not saying live a tiny house with a composting toilet, but why not? I'm not saying make all of your own clothes, but why not a couple things to get a feel for it?
"Be aware of any endeavor that requires new clothes."
---Henry David Theroux
Don't despair. Repair!!
Learning how to sew takes time and focused attention to learn all of the gazillion little things that make sewing a skilled craft. If you're into it, start with patterns and projects that teach you as you go, over time, your goals and visions will cause you to learn through practice.
Learning how to sew is one thing, figuring out how to repair your own gear/stuff/clothes/shoes is a radical act of self-reliance!
Preservation is a key component to repairing your stuff. If you take care of your shit in the first place it lasts longer. Shoe polish isn't just for making your shoes shiny, it preserves the leather making the material more pliable, prevents cracks and prolongs the life of your shoes and boots.
Sometimes repair doesn't even involve sewing, it could be as simple as gluing or ironing; a little time, goop and patience will give you more time with an old favorite.
What's worth repairing?
Boots, always boots. You may not be able to fix a busted zipper, or resole otherwise good boots, but a cobbler can for the price of a pair of sweatshop boots that'll wear through quickly. Take your broken(in) boots for a good fixing and you can keep them going for many, many years. I swear on all of their graves, my dad maintained and wore some shoes that were passed down through four generations of his family, (I'd like to believe that my brother has them now).
Pants. Boots, pants, boots, pants… pants wear out in really typical places, especially denim. Denim is a twill weave and, by design is woven to be economical, the warp and weft have an under 1 over 2, under 1 over 3, weave pattern, and the yarn it's made of is weaksauce, this is why our favorite jeans mold to fit our bodies and wear out in friction zones like wallet/key pockets, knees, and inner thighs. It's is a bummer when your favorite jeans practically disintegrate off your body.
A crust punk might oil his jeans with mink oil to preserve the fiber of the weave, some will use a waterproofing treatment like Nikwax to preserve the life of denim, some just let their pants get naturally greasy from work and dirt (crust). Still others forego denim all together, choosing canvas duck (like Carhartt's, Ben Davies, and Dickies), or wool pants, all of which wear long and are worth repairing. Jeans are cheap, and easily found second hand, (another way to keep mullah out of the hands of corporations). From Sunday pop-up street markets, bulk second-hand shops and junk stores to vintage boutiques, reusing old clothes to craft a personal style outside of fashion trends is a form of radical self-expression. In The Role of The Ragmarket, Angela McRobbie discusses the economy of tastemakers of the teeming underworld of secondhand fashion.
I'mma not gonna tell you how to dress. What I'm getting at is making, preserving, repairing, and thrift shopping clothes is a component of making the world you want to live in.
Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves
In an interview with NPR's All Songs Considered (October 23, 2015), Neko Case stated:
"There was a certain point in the 80's and 90's where punk rock, which I was really into, just became really super crappy, dogmatic, recycled political slogans, and there were no women anywhere. After a while, when you don't see yourself you either start your own band and make yourself, or you just start looking for women somewhere, like where are they singing, they gotta be singing somewhere? I like singin'. . . . I loved the Plasmatics, I loved X but there was a serious woman drought in the kind of scene I was trying to be in and it was a drag."
Yeah, it's kind of a drag when The Media neglected to show the women who were in on the punk scene, or showed women as hyper-sexualized or mute. In, The Decline of Western Civilization I, (1982), Penelope Spheeris showed women fronting bands, playing instruments and in the interviews, showed young women in a funky liminal place between being kids and full grown women. This is important because of punk's attractions to budding teenagers anxious to find their own identity, try on different drags, challenge their parent's ideas, question the world and pushing back on current affairs. When young people see themselves in their idols, they can build a stronger sense of self with confidence that there is a place for them in the world.
Punk is a great place to try on your personal identity for the first time, and I think this is what the filmmaker was getting at in the film and the title, the world is in the hands of these kids and we're fucked. In The Decline of Western Civilization I, Penelope Spheeris shows us the 'what' of early punk in the US, in The Decline of Western Civilization III, she examines crust punk in the late 90's and digs into 'why' punk, delivering a message, while dire, of a welcoming community of hopeless people who've found a home with each other in the catchall that is punk.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for."
Mez is a cyberpunk of the first degree. Mez has been a lot of things to a lot of people, a guru, cult leader, wedding affiant, a Burner, transhumanist, an immigrant, and sci-fi author. We've sat on couches during house parties peeling back the layers of our favorite cyberpunk stories. Mez is a smart guy who I respect a lot. He said this completely amazing, simple sentence recently at the 10th annual Burning Man Global Leadership Conference in San Francisco (2016).
"The meaning of a thing is the change it causes in the world"
If Riot Grrrl was born out of a race riot, the meaning of a thing is the change it causes in the world.
In The Punk Singer, Kathleen Hanna recounts that Kathy Ackermann told her to start a band, she started a band. The meaning of a thing is the change it causes in the world. If Bikini Kill was born out of violence, the meaning of a thing is the change it causes in the world.
When Neko Case said, "After a while, when you don't see yourself you either start your own band and make yourself, or you just start looking for women somewhere…" I remember saying to the radio, "Damn right sister."
"We are the ones we have been waiting for." This short sweet sentence is a fresh call to action that resonates with myriad folks, punks, burners, makers, politicos, the young awaiting an invitation to step up. Mez's statements command us to look at ourselves as agents of change. We can no longer wait for others to start something we can support; we have to be the ones to start. We have to do it ourselves. We have to be radically self-reliant, we have to be radically inclusive, we have to participate. We have to.
In Riot Grrrl, Race, and Revival, M. T. Nguyen pulls a bunch of social capital into a pile, sorts through it turning over every best intention and calls out the inequity of every detail of the Riot Grrrl punk bedroom zine and online forum culture. M. T. Nguyen challenges us as readers to examine our thinking so that we may go forth and be the ones we have been waiting for.
M. T. Nguyen talks about what she calls 'whitestraightboy p-rock' in, It's (Not) a White World: Looking for Race in Punk, (Nov/Dec 1998, republished Mar 2010), calling to task the "common culture" of punk in which she discusses erasure of her identifiers, "If I keep my mouth shut and don't make "an issue" I'm told that I'll get along fine—and never mind the psychic erasures I might have to endure."
Nguyen is a fucking bad ass. I wish she were writing A Rebel Grrrls Field Guide to Self-Reliance. In, Looking for Race in Punk, she calls attention to how, in the punk scene she came up within, otherism was skirted by "colorblindness", she brings to the table the wide strokes of erasure of history that happens when we whitewash cultural markers people bring to the party with them.
Ask Your Aunties
As a kick off in our first issue, HOW TO BE A BADASS editor, Q, asked a bunch of bad ass women one simple question,
"What do you wish someone/anyone, (but especially another woman), had communicated to you about the world when you were a young woman? Would you have listened?"
If you have questions for your Badass Aunties, send them to: how.to.be.a.baddass at gmail dot com (the extra D is intentional).
The badass ladies Q inquired with are farmers, framers, welders, coders, mechanics, seamstresses and designers, administrative wizards, musicians, artists, theater geeks, nurses, scientists, adventurers, bakers, filmmakers, photographers, world travelers; women of the world, from all walks of life, economic backgrounds and education, these women are bonded together by some common experiences of being grown ass women. Here's what they had to say:
"The guy who is "everything" is actually a loser who will drag you down." –M
"You are NEVER going to feel like a real adult and it's OK to just do the best you can." –L
"You really can do stuff. Fixing your car/washer/etc? Watch a youtube video." –R
"NO SHAME! Don't let others shame you. Be you, but not an asshole." –A
"Never say you're fine when you're not. Speak up about things that bother you the first time rather than waiting." –A
"Go to college early." –E
"Other Women are not vapid broads or backstabbing cunts, and men are just as drama prone." –R
"Don't worry about being "sexy," what is or isn't as it applied to yourself. How many other ways can you describe yourself?" –K
"You won't find who you are until your late 30's." –M (that's the stone cold truth.)
"Every year reflect on what scares you the most and then spend the next year conquering that fear." –A
"Cultivate good, loving, female friendships." –R
"There are as many ways to live as there are humans alive. As long as no one is getting hurt the way other people live is none of your business." –A
"GO ALONE" –K
"DIY, like really do it yourself." –a
"You won't like everyone, and you won't get along with everyone. That's OK. Just let it go." –A
"Sing out loud. Make noise. Learn an instrument. " –a
"Keep learning." –A
"Don't settle for shit boyfriends because you think you can't do better." –E (because you deserve better)
"Cultivate friendships with people of every age, gender, orientation, class, skin tone, religion or nationality." –A
"Don't care, like seriously give no fucks to what people think of you." –K
"Where sunscreen and moisturize. You cannot reverse aging and you cannot change your genes, but you can practice self-care and postpone the inevitable." –A
"Explore! There is so much more that what you are filling your bubble with. Explore and see more and let go." –C
"Stop apologizing." –P (Q's actual aunty)
Queen of the Neighborhood
One of the very best things about DIY culture, and therefore in extension, punk, burner, maker culture, is that we have the freedom and luxury to make mistakes, we have the room to fail with aplomb.
Your work doesn't have to be perfect. Perfect is for machines, you're not a machine, machines are tools used to achieve work well done. There is absolutely no reason, ever, to make work devoid of fingerprints or brushstrokes.
Do it the hard way. Do the work to make it beautiful, even if there is a short-cut to getting the work done more efficiently if it compromises the aesthetic it's not worth the loss.
Fail to succeed. Flunk out if you have to, your entire career is not hinged on passing a class. Learn your strengths from your failures.
Practice. Practice. Practice. Make. Make. Make. Short. Long. Coherent. Incoherent. Contextual. Conceptual. Practice.
If you build it they will come. You don't have to work for someone else for validation. You don't need permission or an invitation to make work, make work you believe in because you believe in it.
THAT GIRL SHE HOLDS HER HEAD UP SO HIGH
You know what badasses do? All of them, you, challenge authority. Buck the status quo. Walk through the world with confidence that you're a motherfuckin boss. A "boss" could be the one who runs the place or it could mean "boss" in the video game sense, an extra super powerful character, bosses are very hard or impossible to defeat without knowing the correct fighting approach. Bosses take strategy and special knowledge to defeat.
I want you to try something right now. Go to Youtube, type into the search bar, "how to use", and select the first autofill. Is the first hit by a man? Try the same thing with "repair" or, "unboxing". Men. Yeah? Do me a small favor and look up how to make a duct tape wallet. Notice that almost all of these videos are made by actual boys. What's up with that? Where are the women fixing, unboxing or reviewing stuff? What does these tell us about a voice of authority? Where the ladies at?
I think I know one answer, online harassment. I've been there, and I hated it. We know through The Media the challenges Anita Sarkeesian and Feminist Frequency have experienced. Online harassment of women is violent and horrible, and sadly nothing new, and unfortunately slow to change. Does this mean we're going to stand for it? Should we allow ourselves to be silenced and erased by men? Please say no. NO. Have a look at Feminist Frequency's video series, Ordinary Women: Daring to Defy History, for some empowering inspiration on getting on with your badass self.
Women, young women and old have voices that are defying authority and the establishment by being present and reinforcing their positions and knowledge. The more we push back on men silencing us, the louder and more persistent we are, the more we show up and outperform the haters, the more progress we make in demonstrating we will not tolerate erasure. We don't have to adopt the language and cadence of the menfolk to be badass. The most badass woman I know, Lidia Yuknavitch, makes use of her womanvoice to tell her stories, and coax bravery and creativity out of others with her teaching. Hell my own mom, a mountaineer, and pilot defied every stereotype to prove that she belonged in the company of other adventurers. My mom is a tremendous, take no shit badass.
Be the expert, take no shit, defend your point of view, and be curious enough to question, research and challenge what you suspect is bullshit.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO START[1]
At age 23, Tina Fey was working at a YMCA.
At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.
At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.
At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.
At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.
At age 28, Wayne Coyne (from The Flaming Lips) was a fry cook.
At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.
At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.
At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.
Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39 and got her own cooking show at age 51.
Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn't get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.
Stan Lee didn't release his first big comic book until he was 40.
Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career and landed his first movie role at age 42.
Samuel L. Jackson didn't get his first major movie role until he was 46.
Morgan Freeman landed his first major movie role at age 52.
Kathryn Bigelow won the Academy Award for Best Director when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57.
Grandma Moses didn't begin her painting career until age 76.
Louise Bourgeois didn't become a famous artist until she was 78.
Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren't a failure because you haven't found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it's okay if you don't even know what your dream is yet. Even if you're flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you'll end up tomorrow.
Never tell yourself you're too old to make it.
Never tell yourself you missed your chance.
Never tell yourself that you aren't good enough.
Whatever it is.
[1] Poached from Tumblr user Miss Mentelle, http://missmentelle.tumblr.com/post/142988199949/at-age-23-tina-fey-was-working-at-a-ymca-at-age
SOUL SISTER, REBEL GIRL
Readin's awesome. Here's a list of ladyauthors you may or may not have read already, maybe they have something new to pick up. A fun and interesting challenge is to spend a year, one year reading only books written by women. This, for me, falls into a "challenge authority" category of action. I want women as my mentors. I want women to influence my thinking, someone who has had vaguely similar lived experiences as I have, even if our only commonality is that we are women. I want the money I spend on my books, (I love books), to make it down the pipe to women. I want the bestseller lists to look like a who's who of baddass women. This is not to say I don't enjoy the authorship and artistry of men's writing, I do, but it is not a challenge to find men on the shelves of my local bookstores. The following is a list of awesome ladyauthors was contributed to by, Your Aunties. May you find some enrichment with this selection of reading.
Linda Barry
Monica Drake
Sara Jaffe
Sarah Sentilles
Amanda Fucking Palmer
Margaret Attwood
Annie Proulx
Sharon Kaye Penman
M.M. Kaye
AM Homes
Mary Gaitskill
Francesca Lia Block
Dorothy Allison
Sonia Sanchez
Tara Brach
Ana Deveare Smith
Melissa Broder
Michelle Tea
Flannery O'Connor
Pat Cadigan
Nicola Griffin
DOUBLE KITTEN DARE
Part of what makes folks badass, and independent, and self-reliant is running head on, hell-bent, crazy-flailing at things that scare the crap out of them. There's base jumping scary, and there is singing karaoke for the first time scary, they are vastly different in the actual activity, but they do similar things to our brains, in that taking on our challenges, achieving scary shit alters the pathways in our brains and scary shit becomes fun shit, and then we're fucking badass. I'm armchair psychologizing immersion therapy, for sure, but there's truth in the scientific proof of how exposure therapy works. This zine is not the place to unpack that, but it is a place to offer up a few ideas on challenging yourself. Start small and cheap.
Read something on a stage, or sing karaoke. Oh. My. Cookies. Hit an open mic with some writing, that shit's scary!
Go on a long ass journey alone. Through hike a long trail, bike tour, road trip, sailing adventure, horse camping, whatever, go into the world alone.
Take short adventures alone. Take yourself on a date, go to a movie, dinner, drinks, roller skating, anything you can do around town without the intention of meeting up with a friend.
Reduce your waste. Carry reusable shopping bags, refillable drink cups, and water bottles. This doesn't sound super radical, or scary but it really is challenging to commit to reducing the single use consumables we encounter on a day to day basis.
Memorize poetry. I don't know how people do it. I know songs, some songs come to me like breathing, but I couldn't recite their lyrics when I've tried. Committing Dickinson # whatever to memory would be an amazing accomplishment for me.
I may produce another issue of How To Be A Badass, I may not, please don't hold me to it. It was fun to do as an assignment, but I'm not certain that this line of authority is how I want to proceed.
Jeffrey Chausse May 31, 2016 at 2:54 AM
Qathi Hart June 1, 2016 at 4:18 PM
I'm not interested in spammy comments and I will remove them.
Gary W. Deason September 23, 2016 at 10:03 AM
Incredibly detailed article, the author of this article does have a talent in writing essays, thanks a lot for sharing! I am gonna try to write my assignment in the same style as you.
Mona W. Benavides November 10, 2016 at 1:43 PM
This article is a really very good example of great an essay. If your writing skills are not the best, you may just to buy coursework online and be calm about it!)
The Last Homework Assignment, a zine; HOW TO BE A ...
Master Hart
Dear Leftcoast;
21 Days Under the Sky