text:
\section{Introduction} \label{Introduction}

The gene regulation is a process of fundamental importance for the functioning and growth of biological cells. Gene regulatory system consists of genes which function collectively by interacting through the transcription factors (activators or repressors), and produce the appropriate proteins in response to cell's needs \cite{uribook}.

A system of interacting genes can be seen as a \textit{network} \cite{dorogovtsev}, where nodes represent genes and directed links model the activatory and repressory interactions -- such description is termed \textit{Gene Regulatory Network} (GRN) \cite{boccaletti-arenasguilera}. Recent studies revealed various details of GRN's architecture, dynamics and functionality, and allowed applications such as engineering of gene circuits \cite{collins}. GRN of many living organisms are known empirically, both in terms of chemistry of gene interactions and the details of network topology \cite{lee,orr}. A well studied example is bacterium \textit{Escherichia Coli} (E.Coli), where detailed experimental and theoretical investigations revealed all relevant gene interactions \cite{orr,janga}. GRN typically involve different scales of functioning and have \textit{modular} structure, where groups of genes with specific connection patterns preform particular functions \cite{uribook,boccaletti-arenasguilera,orr}.

For modeling the interaction of biological units such as genes, one often uses simple dynamical systems that capture the essence of system's behavior over time \cite{rajesh,jong,areejit,andrecut-coutinho,schuster}. In this way, the dynamics of gene regulations is modeled at various levels \cite{karlebach} and using different mathematical techniques \cite{jong}. The simplest approaches include boolean networks \cite{areejit} and discrete-time maps \cite{andrecut-coutinho}, while more detailed analysis requires 1D \cite{lima} or 2D \cite{schuster} continuous-time ODE, that can also involve a time-delayed action \cite{chunguang}. Analytical studies of GRN models involving small networks revealed the complexity of their dynamical patterns \cite{lima}, with the system of two interacting genes solved in detail \cite{andrecut-coutinho,schuster}. General relationship between structure and function of large GRN was examined, with particular emphasis on their collective dynamics \cite{prill}, information processing \cite{klemm-reliability}, flexibility \cite{areejit}, and functional organization \cite{janga}.

An important question concerning both small and large GRN structures is related to the \textit{stability} of its emergent dynamics: GRN functioning ought to be very robust in order to assure the survival of the cell under various circumstances. How much stability and functionality can a certain network topology provide for a system of dynamical units coupled through its links? General relationship between topology and stability was studied for the case of static \cite{sinha} and growing networks \cite{perotti}. Stability of the GRN dynamics was examined from the Control theory prospective for noisy \cite{jinlindsey} and non-noisy case \cite{chunguang}. As time delay for all interactions is ubiquitous \cite{atay-kurths}, stability and robustness of GRN were also investigated in the case of time-varying delays \cite{rencao}, and asynchronous networks \cite{klemm}. The dynamics at the "edge of chaos" characterized by zero Lyapunov exponents was found in models of gene interaction \cite{dejan}. Some recent studies \cite{shmulevich-nykter} suggest importance of the critical region between the order and chaos in the emergent dynamics of many biological networks.

Networks of coupled maps are a useful paradigm for designing complex dynamical systems. Networks of maps have been extensively studied on different artificial networks in the context of testing the effects induced by network topology on the emergent phenomena, where typically 1D maps/ODE have been examined \cite{klemm-reliability,sinha}. Chaotic maps have been considered as suitable models that take into account certain features of gene interactions \cite{andrecut-coutinho}, in addition to allowing the study of time delay effects on the emergent behaviors \cite{atay-kurths}. Nonlinear systems were used for modeling brain dynamics \cite{rencao} and temporal fluctuations in gene regulations \cite{klemm}. Coupled maps on empirical networks have been employed as simple tools for examining the robustness of the network topology \cite{li}. Recently, two-dimensional chaotic maps symmetrically coupled with time delay have been studied on artificial scale-free networks. They are found to exhibit a rich variety of the emergent dynamical behaviors \cite{levnajic-tadic,levnajic-teza}, including strange non-chaotic attractors \cite{feudel}.

The purpose of the present work is somewhat different: we focus on a realistic Gene Regulatory Network of bacterium E.Coli, and study its dynamical stability using a different class of nonlinear dynamical systems as our tool. In particular, we employ two-dimensional chaotic maps associated with the nodes, while varying the coupling types and strengths. We determine the conditions under which the gene regulatory architecture maintains its dynamical stability and describe the pathways towards the stable collective dynamical states, which contrasts the strongly chaotic dynamics exhibited by the isolated nodes. We describe the emergent states of the network by several quantitative measures.

For the nonlinear chaotic map associated with each node we use 2D Chirikov standard map \cite{ll}, which is well understood and shares some {\it formal} properties (specifically the dimensionality of the phase space) with the actual gene dynamics, given at each node by the concentrations of protein and \textit{m}RNA. It contains built-in periodicity in the angle variable, while being unbounded in the action variable. We stress that this choice is primarily motivated by a tunable chaotic behavior of the isolated standard map, which allows an easy quantification of the emergent non-chaotic dynamics that is a clear consequence of the network interaction among the maps. Our system is \textit{dissipative}, despite involving conservative standard maps as units. Dissipativeness is a general feature of biological dynamics, which in our model arises as a consequence of the particular coupling form that we chose, in addition to the network's directedness.\\[0.01cm]

\n \textbf{The Network.} We consider the version of E.Coli's GRN shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-1}, which was
\begin{figure}[!hbt]  \begin{center}
\includegraphics[height=2.7in,width=3.4in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-1.eps}
\caption{Directed E.Coli's GRN with $N=423$ genes marked by their biological names, according to the data from \cite{orr,uriweb}. Self-loops as well as the difference between
 activatory and repressory links are omitted.} \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-1}
\end{center} \end{figure}
empirically determined in 2003 \cite{orr} (data available in Ref.\cite{uriweb}). Since we are interested in the induced collective dynamics, we consider only the largest connected component, which is composed of $N=328$ nodes/genes (shown in Figs.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-6}\,\&\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-8}). Smaller components have their own mutually unrelated dynamics. Compared to our previous works where the coupled maps were studied on non-directed networks \cite{levnajic-tadic,levnajic-teza}, the focus here is on the effects that the directedness of links with time-delayed interactions have on the emergent collective dynamics and its stability.\\[0.01cm]

The paper is organized as follows: in Section \ref{Chaotic Maps on Directed E.Coli GRN}. we introduce the system of chaotic maps coupled through the directed links of E.Coli's GRN and study briefly the case of SUM-rule coupling. Our main results are given in Section \ref{Chaotic Maps on E.Coli GRN with Spreading Coupling}. where we study the Spreading coupling between the maps and analyze in detail the collective dynamics in two characteristic regions of the  coupling strengths. A short summary and the discussion of the results are given in Section \ref{Conclusions}.

\section{Chaotic Maps on Directed E.Coli GRN} \label{Chaotic Maps on Directed E.Coli GRN}

In this Section we define the directed network of chaotic 2D maps and introduce statistical and stability measures that will be used to characterize its emergent dynamics. We also show the main results for the case of SUM-rule coupling, which are compared to the results for non-directed case \cite{levnajic-tadic}.\\[0.01cm]

\n \textbf{The Network of Chaotic Maps.} We consider the largest connected component of the directed E.Coli's GRN, shown in Figs.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-6}\,\&\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-8}, and assign to each node $[i]=1,\hdots N$ a Chirikov standard map which consists of two mutually coupled (action-angle) variables:
\begin{equation} \left( \begin{array}{c}
x[i]' \\
y[i]'
\end{array} \right) = \left(
\begin{array}{l}
  x[i] + y[i] + \varepsilon \sin (2 \pi x[i])  \;\;  \mbox{mod} \; 1  \\
  y[i] + \varepsilon \sin (2 \pi x[i])
\end{array} \right) \label{oursm} \end{equation}
representing a discrete version of the kicked rotor \cite{ll}. The chaotic parameter $\varepsilon$ is set to $\varepsilon=0.9$, thus assuring a strongly chaotic behavior of the isolated units. Each node is described by its dynamical state in two-dimensional phase space, represented by a point $(x[i]_t,y[i]_t)$ at a discrete time $t$. The maps are coupled along the directed network links, with a coupling term that involves a one-step time delay in the coupled angle coordinates $x$ between the network neighbors:
\begin{equation}
\begin{tabular}{l}
$\left(\begin{array}{l}
x[i]_{t+1} \\
y[i]_{t+1}
\end{array}\right)
=(1- \mu)
\left(\begin{array}{l}
x[i]_t' \\
y[i]_t'
\end{array}\right)+$
      \\
$\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;\;
M(\mu,{k_i^{in}})
\left(\begin{array}{c}
\sum_{j \in {\mathcal K_i}} (x[j]_t - x[i]_t') \\
0
\end{array}\right)$
\end{tabular}
\label{directed+conn-equation} \end{equation}
$M(\mu,k_{i}^{in})$ defines the type of interaction between the nodes, which always depends on the coupling strength $\mu$. Note that in a directed network ${\mathcal K_i}$ denotes only the neighbors having links \textit{towards} the node $[i]$, and accordingly, the interaction term $M(\mu,k_{i}^{in})$ involves only the node's in-degree $k_{i}^{in}$. Some nodes may not have incoming links ($k_i^{in}=0$) and have thus vanishing inputs from other nodes. However, their motion is eventually affected due to $(1-\mu)$ term, which inhibits the chaotic diffusion \cite{levnajic-teza}. Time delay is realized through the fact that the coupling term contains the node's updated value ($x[i]_t'$), while the neighboring nodes' values ($x[j]_t$) are not updated (for an update we here intend the action of the standard map denoted as $' $ and defined in Eq.\,(\ref{oursm})).

In this Section we briefly discuss the case with the coupling form
\begin{equation}
M(\mu,k_i^{in}) = \mu k_i^{in} \label{eq-sumrule}
\end{equation}
which resembles the SUM logic-gate GRN model: the input that a gene receives is the average of the inputs coming from all the neighbors \cite{jinlindsey} (a different type of coupling is discussed in Section \ref{Chaotic Maps on E.Coli GRN with Spreading Coupling}.). It is important to stress that the neighboring nodes are coupled via their angular variables $x$ only, while the dynamics of the action coordinate $y$ is affected via standard map update Eq.\,(\ref{oursm}), and by the prefactor $(1-\mu)$ in Eq.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}).\\[0.01cm]

\n \textbf{Types of Orbits and Statistical Measures Employed.} In the simulations with the dynamics defined by Eqs.\,(\ref{oursm}-\ref{directed+conn-equation}), we start with a random selection of initial conditions from the interval $(x,y) \in [0,1] \times [-1,1]$ for each GRN node, and a fixed coupling $\mu$ along the network links. The transients are taken as $t_0=10^{5}$ iterations. Two types of the emergent orbits are considered:
\begin{itemize}
\item orbit of the individual nodes:  $(x[i]_t,y[i]_t)_{t>t_0}, \;\; [i]=1,\hdots, N$.
\item time-averaged orbit for a given node: $(\bar{x}[i],\bar{y}[i]) =  \lim_{t \rightarrow \infty} \frac{1}{t-t_0}\sum_{k=t_0}^{t} (x[i]_k,y[i]_k)$ which reduces an entire orbit of a given node into a single phase space point.
It qualitatively captures its motion after transients (or during the time-interval $[t_0,t]$ if $t<\infty$).
\end{itemize}
As mentioned above, we are testing the ability of the examined network structure to regularize the motion of the chaotic maps due to their mutual interactions along the directed links. The system's emergent dynamics will be characterized using following tools:\\[0.08cm]
$\bullet$ \textit{Periodic orbits} for single nodes are defined to have a periodicity $\pi = t_1 - t_0$ if for some $t_1>t_0$ we have
\[ \Bigg| \dfrac{x[i]_{t_0} - x[i]_{t_1}}{x[i]_{t_0}} \Bigg|  < \delta \;\;\; \mbox{and} \;\;\;  \Bigg| \dfrac{y[i]_{t_0} - y[i]_{t_1}}{y[i]_{t_0}}\Bigg|  < \delta \]
Here we set  $\delta=10^{-4}$. Appearance of stable periodic orbits indicates a presence of regularity in the collective dynamics, in a clear contrast with the chaotic behavior of the isolated standard map.\\[0.08cm]
$\bullet$ \textit{Finite-time Maximal Lyapunov Exponent} (FTMLE) for a point $\mathbf{x}_0$ is defined as the maximal initial divergence rate between $\mathbf{x}_0$ and the trajectories starting in its neighborhood ${\mathcal N}$:
\[ \Lambda_{max}^t (\mathbf{x}_0) = \max_{\mathbf{x} \in {\mathcal N}} \; \left\lbrace \mbox{initial slope}  \left[ \frac{1}{\tau}\ln \frac{d(U_\tau \mathbf{x},U_\tau \mathbf{x}_0)}{d(\mathbf{x},\mathbf{x}_0)} \right]\right\rbrace \]
where the operator $U_\tau$ denotes the time-evolution according to Eqs.\,(\ref{oursm}-\ref{directed+conn-equation}) until the time $\tau$. The actual $\tau$-value used in this expression is determined for each particular orbit, which can be identified as either strongly or weakly chaotic, or otherwise regular. We first determine the character of the orbit by computing an approximate FTMLE using $\tau=10^3$ iterations, and only then set the $\tau$-value used to compute the real FTMLE. Typically, $\tau$ ranges from 20 iterations for strongly chaotic to 200 iterations for stable orbits. For a given emergent orbit $\Lambda_{max}^t$-s are averaged for many initial points $\mathbf{x}_0$ belonging to it, and $\lambda_{max}^t = \langle \Lambda_{max}^t (\mathbf{x}_0) \rangle_{\mathbf{x}_0}$ is considered the characteristic FTMLE for this orbit, quantifying its stability. In opposition to the standard Lyapunov exponents typically used with isolated chaotic systems \cite{levnajic-teza}, FTMLE are a suitable measure for single nodes attached to the rest of the network, thus giving a node-by-node characterization of the network stability.\\[0.08cm]
$\bullet$ \textit{Return-times to Phase space Partitions} represent an interesting measure of the non-ergodicity of the dynamics \cite{levnajic-tadic}, and thus provides a suitable way of quantifying the collective effects. We monitor the time intervals between successive visits of an orbit to a phase space partition element. As discussed in Section \ref{Chaotic Maps on E.Coli GRN with Spreading Coupling}., for this purpose we consider $10^5$ equal elements along the $x$-coordinate, while the cells remain unlimited along the $y$-coordinate.\\[-0.1cm]

\n \textbf{The Case of SUM-rule Coupling.} We find that the GRN network with the SUM-rule coupling between the units given by Eq.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}-\ref{eq-sumrule}) exhibits periodic orbits with different periodicities for
\begin{figure}[!hbt]  \begin{center}
   \includegraphics[height=4.2in,width=2.8in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-2.eps}
\caption{2D histogram of $\bar{y}$-values in (a), and $\lambda^{t}_{max}$-values in (b). The color-map shows the fraction of nodes having a certain value of $\bar{y}$ or $\lambda^{t}_{max}$ as function of the coupling $\mu$. Log-scale is used for the color-map, with the lowest (reference) value taken as $10^{-14}$, corresponding to the deep blue color.} \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-2}
\end{center} \end{figure}
any non-zero $\mu$-value, as shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-2}. In addition, self-organized non-periodic orbits are found at some nodes for the coupling strengths around $\mu \sim 0.05$. To compare with the case of non-directed (symmetrical) network from \cite{levnajic-tadic}, we study the clustering and stability of the emergent orbits. A histogram of $\bar{y}[i]$-values as function of $\mu$ is reported in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-2}a, showing groups of nodes with clustered orbits. In Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-2}b the histogram for the corresponding  FTMLE values $\lambda_{max}^t$ is shown. Both histograms are obtained for a single set of initial conditions at every $\mu$-value and averaged over all the network nodes.

These results are qualitatively similar to the case of non-directed networks: the system exhibits clusters of stable periodic orbits for any non-zero coupling, along with weakly chaotic orbits (small positive $\lambda_{max}^t \sim 0.1$) around $\mu \sim 0.05$ for a some small fraction of nodes. Strongly chaotic orbits similar to the isolated standard map's ones are occurring for very small $\mu$-values, and disappear for larger $\mu$-values. The number of clusters decreases and eventually shrinks to one. In analogy with the non-directed coupling, three dynamical regions can be distinguished: strongly chaotic ($\mu \lesssim 0.01$), periodic ($0.01 \lesssim \mu \lesssim 0.04$), and weakly chaotic with self-organized orbits ($\mu \gtrsim 0.04$). The network dynamics for large coupling strengths (beyond the shown interval) remains stable with all orbits being periodic. We conclude that with the appropriate coupling form -- SUM-rule with the normalized inputs at each node -- E.Coli's directed GRN is generally able to regularize the behavior of the coupled chaotic maps in a wide range of coupling strengths.

\section{Chaotic Maps on E.Coli GRN with Spreading Coupling} \label{Chaotic Maps on E.Coli GRN with Spreading Coupling}

We now modify our network of coupled maps by employing the Spreading coupling form. In Eq.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}) we set:
\begin{equation}   M(\mu,k_i^{in}) = \mu = const. \label{eq-spreadingrule} \end{equation}
We further test the potentials of the directed E.Coli's GRN to stabilize the behavior of chaotic standard map associated with its nodes, by investigating the emergent dynamics of Eqs.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}\,\&\,\ref{eq-spreadingrule}) using the tools and the approach introduced in the previous Section. In contrast to the SUM-rule coupling studied above, in this case the system is expected to be more sensitive to the chaotic behavior, given that better connected nodes receive larger total inputs compared to the nodes with fewer links. With this type of coupling the dissipativeness becomes unevenly distributed over nodes, with better linked nodes undergoing stronger dissipative effects. As it will be shown below, this inhomogeneity of the dissipation dramatically affects the collective dynamics.

In Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-3} we report the fraction of non-periodic orbits as function of $\mu$ for all network nodes, averaged over many initial conditions. The profile of the curve at small $\mu$-values resembles the one for the non-directed network and the SUM-rule cases: for all initial conditions, after a quick initial transient all nodes stabilize into different periodic orbits. However, with the increase of the coupling strength a
\begin{figure}[!hbt]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[height=2.4in,width=3.2in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-3.eps}
\caption{Fraction of non-periodic orbits as function of the coupling strength $\mu$, for all nodes and averaged over many initial conditions. Inset: zoom to the dynamical transition region around $\mu \sim 0.022$.}  \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-3}
\end{center}
\end{figure}
fraction of nodes is found around $\mu \sim 0.02$, whose emergent orbits remain non-periodic for all initial conditions (inset in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-3}). Generally, with further increase of $\mu$ the fraction of nodes with non-periodic orbits fluctuates, but overall slowly increases. Properties of these nodes and their orbits will be studied in detail below.

The 2D histogram of $\bar{y}[i]$-values, shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-4}a, is reflecting different dynamical regions with the occurrence of the non-periodic orbits, in agreement with Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-3}.
\begin{figure}[!hbt]
\begin{center}
   \includegraphics[height=4.2in,width=2.8in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-4.eps}
  \caption{2D histogram of $\bar{y}[i]$-values in (a) and $\lambda_{max}^{t}$-values in (b) for directed network dynamics Eqs.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}\,\&\,\ref{eq-spreadingrule}), computed for a single initial
     condition and for all nodes. The log-scale color-map is as explained in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-2}.}
  \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-4}
\end{center}
\end{figure}
For small $\mu$-values we find a fully clustered organization of nodes with periodic orbits only, whereas for $\mu \gtrsim 0.02$ only a few separate clusters of orbits can be identified. Contrary to the SUM-rule case, here we find that for $\mu \gtrsim  0.08$ the network displays mainly non-clustered orbits, co-existing with a few remaining clusters. The situation is also reflected in the 2D histogram of the FTMLE $\lambda_{max}^{t}$, shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-4}b. For small non-zero couplings $\mu$, non-positive $\lambda_{max}^{t}$ can be found at all nodes. However, destabilization of nodes occurs for $\mu \gtrsim 0.02$, where we find a spectrum of positive $\lambda_{max}^{t}$-values. In this region of coupling strengths $\lambda_{max}^{t} \gtrsim 1$ is found at some nodes, indicating their strongly chaotic behavior, similarly to the isolated standard map. Apart from exhibiting the unstable dynamics with positive FTMLE at the majority of nodes, the 2D histogram of $\lambda_{max}^{t}$-values for $\mu>0.022$ exhibits a characteristic pattern, as visible in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-4}b, that includes a spectrum of small FTMLE $\lambda_{max}^{t} \gtrsim 0$. In addition, this patterns suggests that the weakly chaotic nodes having $\lambda_{max}^{t} \gtrsim 0$ occur as a large population of the network nodes, in opposition to a much smaller fraction of nodes with $\lambda_{max}^{t} \gtrsim 1$. In what follows we study in detail the emergent dynamics at all nodes on the network for two particular coupling strengths: at the onset of destabilization for $\mu \sim 0.022$, and within the unstable region at $\mu=0.05$.\\[0.01cm]

\n \textbf{Dynamics at the Onset of Destabilization $\mu \sim 0.022$.} The collective dynamics of the directed E.Coli's GRN described by Eq.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}) with the Spreading coupling rule Eq.\,(\ref{eq-spreadingrule}) becomes partially unstable for $\mu>0.02$, exhibiting a mixture of stable and weakly chaotic orbits. As shown in the inset in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-3}, the destabilization occurs gradually, resembling a continuous phase transition. For the coupling strengths close to the threshold $\mu \sim 0.022$ we examine the fraction of non-periodic orbits at each node for many initial conditions. The results are shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-5}a.
\begin{figure}[!hbt] \begin{center}
   \includegraphics[height=4.2in,width=2.8in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-5.eps}
  \caption{For each network node $[i]$ the color-map shows the fraction of initial conditions that: (a) lead to non-periodic orbits as a function of $\mu$ in the vicinity of  the threshold, and (b) lead to a
given $\lambda_{max}^{t}$-exponent for the threshold coupling $\mu=0.022$.}   \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-5}
\end{center} \end{figure}
We can identify the nodes that gradually lose periodic orbits as the intensity of coupling increases beyond $\mu=0.022$. These nodes seem to undergo the process almost simultaneously, while the rest of the network appears to be unaffected. In order to further analyze the nature of the non-periodic orbits, we compute and show in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-5}b the histogram of the $\lambda_{max}^{t}$-values for each network node separately, at this particular coupling strength of $\mu=0.022$. Indeed, the nodes that lose periodic orbits display $\lambda_{max}^{t}>0$. Positive $\lambda_{max}^{t}$ are smaller than 1, indicating weakly chaotic effects at the unstable nodes. It is striking feature of this directed network that the instability develops on a specific group of nodes, rather than over the whole network. Moreover, this instability remains confined to the initially destabilized sub-network even after the transition at $\mu=0.022$. Whereas, the rest of the network manages to maintain its regular stable dynamics.

In Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-6} we show the largest connected component of the directed E.Coli's GRN indicating the node stability: nodes with periodic orbits at $\mu=0.022$ are shown in blue and non-periodic ones in red color. The unstable nodes are mutually connected and form a sub-network composed of 24 nodes, and include the hub-node (a list of biological names of these unstable nodes/genes is given in Ref.\cite{0022names}).
\begin{figure}[!ht] \begin{center}
\includegraphics[height=2.67in,width=3.2in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-6.eps}
\caption{Largest connected component of directed E.Coli GRN. Nodes exhibiting non-periodic orbits at $\mu=0.022$ are marked by red, and those with periodic orbits by blue color.}
     \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-6}
\end{center} \end{figure}
The unstable sub-network has both incoming and outgoing links with the rest of the network. This suggests a non-trivial interplay between the collective dynamics and the network architecture, responsible for keeping the unstable dynamics co-existing with the stable one within the same network. We run the simulations for longer than $10^6$ iterations to confirm the stationarity of these results.

In Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-7}a,\,b\,\&\,c three typical attractors/orbits appearing on single unstable nodes at $\mu=0.022$ are shown, exhibiting different structural patterns within reduced areas of the phase space. The hub-node always displays the strange attractor from Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-7}a with a fractal structure, regardless of the initial conditions ($\lambda_{max}^{t} \simeq 0.4$, fractal dimension $d_f \simeq 1.4$). We examine the statistical properties of these single-node orbits by computing their return time distributions with respect to the phase space partitions, defined above. The obtained distributions are fitted with $q$-exponential function defined as \cite{levnajic-teza}:
\begin{equation}   e_q(x) = B_q \left( 1 - (1-q)\frac{x}{x_q} \right)^{\frac{1}{1-q}}  \label{eq-qexp} \end{equation}
The results for all three orbits are shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-7}d. The distributions indicate long-time correlations in the return times, compatible with the power-law tail having $q>1$. The trajectories explore different parts of the phase space non-uniformly, in a clear opposition to the exponential distribution (for $q=1$), which characterizes full ergodicity of the chaotic dynamics exhibited by the isolated nodes. Occurrence of the power-law tails of the distributions suggests the presence of self-organization effects, arising as a consequence of the interaction among the nodes, which leads to the emergent non-periodic orbits with $\lambda \gtrsim 0$.
\begin{figure*}[!ht] \begin{center}
\includegraphics[height=4.45in,width=5.2in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-7.eps}
\caption{Examples of typical orbits for unstable single nodes at $\mu=0.022$: (a) the attractor of the hub-node 2 (gene biological name "acrAB"), (b) an orbit of the node 214 (gene "kbl-tdh"), and (c) an orbit of the node 46 (gene "aspV"). Only representative parts of the orbits are shown. (d) distributions of return times to phase space partition for these single-node orbits, fitted with the $q$-exponential expression Eq.\,(\ref{eq-qexp}), with the respective $q$-values listed. Phase space is partitioned into $10^5$ equally spaced cells in $x$-coordinate ($y$-coordinate unbounded).}  \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-7}
\end{center}\end{figure*}

In a sharp contrast with what was observed in the previous Section, the directed network with the dynamics given by Eqs.\,(\ref{directed+conn-equation}\,\&\,\ref{eq-spreadingrule}) remains destabilized above the coupling intensity of  $\mu=0.022$. Also, contrary to the uniformity of the emergent states in the case of the symmetrically coupled maps, in the present case we find that several patterns of different dynamical nature can be simultaneously present in different parts of the network.\\[0.01cm]

\n \textbf{Collective Dynamics inside Chaotic Region at $\mu=0.05$.}  In the region of coupling strength $\mu \gtrsim 0.022$ the GRN nodes are exhibiting three types of behavior: stable periodic orbits, weakly chaotic orbits, and strongly chaotic orbits (cf. Figs.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-3}\,\&\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-4}). In Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-8} we show the state of the network at $\mu=0.05$, where the non-periodic nodes are indicated by red color. The unstable behavior is again localized to a connected sub-network, which is integrated within the rest of the network. The unstable sub-network comprises 10\% of the total number of nodes and includes the unstable sub-network found in case of $\mu=0.022$ (with additional 10 nodes listed in Ref.\cite{005names}).
\begin{figure}[!hbt] \begin{center}
\includegraphics[height=2.67in,width=3.2in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-8.eps}
\caption{Coupled chaotic maps on the directed E.Coli GRN for $\mu=0.05$: non-periodic nodes are localized in the red sub-network, while the rest of nodes (blue) manage to attain the periodic orbits.}
     \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-8}
\end{center} \end{figure}
Despite stronger coupling, the network still manages to contain its dynamically unstable part within a small sub-network, allowing for regular stable behavior of the rest of the nodes.

In Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-9}a we show 2D histogram of $\bar{y}[i]$-values node-by-node at $\mu=0.05$. While most of the nodes' orbits are clustered into three main clusters for all initial conditions (horizontal lines in this plot), some other nodes have a wide range of possible $\bar{y}[i]$-values away from a clear clustering pattern. For comparison, in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-9}b we also show the histogram of $\lambda_{max}^t$-values for each node on the network and the fixed coupling strength $\mu=0.05$.
\begin{figure}[!hbt] \begin{center}
   \includegraphics[height=4.3in,width=2.8in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-9.eps}
\caption{For each node $[i]$ the color-map shows the fraction of initial conditions for $\mu=0.05$ leading to: a given value of $\lambda_{max}^t$-exponent in (a) and a given $\bar{y}[i]$-value in (b). Log-scale is used as with Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-2}.} \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-9}
\end{center} \end{figure}
As the Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-9}b shows, the majority of nodes appear to have stable dynamics ($\lambda_{max}^t<0$). For the unstable nodes we find the values of $\lambda_{max}^t$ to vary from $\lambda_{max}^t \sim 0.1$ (also present at the instability threshold $\mu=0.022$), to a strong chaos with $\lambda_{max}^t \gtrsim 1$. We also find that some of these nodes alternate between stable and weakly unstable dynamics. In our coupled maps dynamics on directed GRN, each node attains a certain spectrum of "roles" in the network emergent behavior, depending on the particular choice of the initial conditions and the connection patterns, thus implying the roles of other nodes connected to it.

Contrary to the case of $\mu=0.022$ shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-7}, at the strong coupling the hub node does not display any specific attractor, but it shows strongly chaotic motion regardless of the initial conditions. However, the behavior of some other non-periodic nodes shows a variety of patterns that are structurally and statistically robust to the initial conditions. We illustrate this in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-10}, where three typical emergent orbits of two selected unstable nodes are shown, along with the corresponding distributions of the return times. The key geometrical and statistical properties of the orbits seem to persist for varying initial conditions and are related with the observed fluctuations in $\bar{y}[i]$-values. The shapes of return times distributions for these orbits are shown in Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-10}c\,\&\,d. Again, these distributions can be fitted with the expression Eq.\,(\ref{eq-qexp}) with $q>1$, indicating an self-organized collective dynamics, away from the fully chaotic dynamics of the isolated maps.

The emergent dynamics of our coupled chaotic maps system possesses a certain {\it flexibility} with respect to the initial conditions (which can be seen as the environmental inputs to the cellular GRN). It is marked by the finite range of possible $\bar{y}[i]$-values and $\lambda_{max}^t$-values. On the other hand, the statistical properties of the dynamics, i.e., the return-time distributions of the angular variable, for particular unstable nodes/genes, appear to be quite robust to variations of the initial conditions. Features of this type might be related to the biological origin of the studied network: the network's architecture provides certain level of functional adaptability and robustness for operation of its units - genes, even when the inherently chaotic dynamics at its units is present.

\section{Discussion and Conclusions} \label{Conclusions}

We have studied the emergent dynamics and stability of two-dimensional chaotic standard maps coupled with time delay along the directed regulatory links of the largest connected component of Escherichia Coli's Gene Regulatory Network. The coupling with SUM-rule and Spreading-rule between the connected units have been considered, and the emergent dynamical properties were investigated through non-periodic orbits, and by using Finite-time Maximal Lyapunov Exponents $\lambda_{max}^t$ and distributions of return-times to the phase space partitions. We have demonstrated that the examined empirical network structure is able to induce a coherent collective dynamics of the coupled chaotic maps. The emergent behavior appears to depend primarily on the network structure, but also on the type and the strength of coupling.
\begin{figure*}[!hbt] \begin{center}
\includegraphics[height=4.45in,width=5.2in]{ecoli-CCM-figure-10.eps}
\caption{Examples of three emergent orbits (marked by different colors) for single nodes at $\mu=0.05$: the node 86 (gene "zraP") in (a), and the node 119 (gene "fdhF") in (b). The distributions of return times to phase space partitions are shown for the orbits from (a) in (c), and for the orbits from (b) in (d). Phase space partitioning is done identically to the case from the Fig.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-7}.}  \label{ecoli-CCM-figure-10}
\end{center}  \end{figure*}

Our numerical results suggest that different mechanisms are in a combined manner contributing to the observed collective dynamical behavior of the coupled maps on network:
\begin{itemize}
\item {\it Self-organization} among dynamically coupled units occurs over time, where the state of each unit adjusts to the states of its neighbors in various ways, depending on the couplings and the local dynamics of its two variables, without any external interaction involved.
\item {\it Anomalous diffusion} in our coupled map network is demonstrated for the trajectories of some nodes, which are shown to selectively fill the phase space.
\item {\it Non-ergodicity}, related with the anomalous diffusion and the self-organized behavior of the coupled maps, is a general property of complex dynamical systems. In the present case it might be caused by the underlying network structure, combined with the dissipatively coupled maps on it.
\item {\it Synchronization} occurring between different nodes is documented by the appearance of the clusters of nodes with a well defined $\bar{y}[i]$-values (cf. Figs.\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-4}\,\&\,\ref{ecoli-CCM-figure-9}).  Mutually synchronized nodes tend to form a characteristic pattern over the network which we have not studied for this case (results for non-directed networks can be found in \cite{levnajic-tadic,levnajic-teza}).
\item {\it Phenomena at the edge-of-chaos} or a dynamical phase-transition are often reported (see e.g. \cite{dejan,shmulevich-nykter}) in the extended dynamical systems when the Lyapunov exponents vanish. Our results also suggest that the attractors with vanishingly small finite-time Lyapunov exponents $\lambda_{max}^t$ might play an important role in the occurrence and the structure of the collective dynamical states on the studied GRN.
\end{itemize}

The structural properties of the network are closely related with the observed dynamical features and their stability. The flexibility of the emergent orbits to the initial conditions indicates the network's ability to efficiently respond to the environmental inputs by adapting dynamics of its units accordingly. Also, the results for Spreading coupling suggest the existence of an optimal range of interaction strength where the network maintains its dynamical stability. The fact that the instability appearing at strong inter-node coupling remains localized to a small sub-network indicates the set of nodes/links which are crucial for the stability of this network structure. These nodes/links may be also used as a target for dynamical manipulation of the network. The unstable sub-network is dynamically linked to the stable part of the network, suggesting a complex balance of the global network's behavior, that needs additional study.

We hope that our work traces the appropriate methodology for the study of collective dynamics in coupled multi-dimensional chaotic maps with time delay on empirical networks, in particular in the context of searching for a network architecture with robust and dynamically controllable behavior.\\[0.05cm]

\n {\bf Acknowledgments.} This work was supported by the DFG through Project FOR868, by the national Program P1-0044 (Slovenia), and in part by the European Project MRTN-CT-2004-005728 (PATTERNS). Many thanks to A. D\'iaz-Guilera and M. \v Suvakov for useful discussions. Special thanks to R. Krivec for maintaining the computing resources at Dept. of Theor. Physics (J. Stefan Institute), where the numerical work was performed.

\begin{scriptsize}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Background: Menarche the commencement of menstruation with physical, physiological and mental changes associated with puberty. The age of menarche was studied among 600 subjects from the Ibo, Yoruba Hausa and Engenni tribes of Nigeria. The studied age was between 18-22 years. The aim and objectives of this study were to estimate the distribution of age of menarche as well as to determine the mean age of menarche among the adolescents also to find the factors that could affect the age at menarche. Methods: The menarcheal age was determined by a retrospective and simple random sampling method conducted through the use of structured close–ended questionnaires distributed randomly and retrieved. Results: Data revealed that 100% of the populations studied were menstruating and on analysis showed the mean age of menarche to be 13.10.08 with a median of 12. The range of their menarche age is 10-17 years. The mean length of period was found to be 4.510.05 with a median of 3, the length of period was found to vary among the subjects; 14.5% menstruate for 3 days, 43.7% for 4 days, 25.8% for 5 days, 7.5% for 6 days and 8.5% for 7 days. Conclusions: It was found that 54.5% of the subjects had 28 days cycle while others had less than or more than 28 days. The mean age at menarche was 13.10.08. Menarche age was found to occur earlier in subjects from the Yoruba tribe thus menarcheal age is associated with nutritional availability and improved diet.
Keywords: Menarche, Adolescent Girls, Tribes, Nigeria.


text:
YouTube YOB's Mike Scheidt "Marrow" Acoustic: No Distortion Ep. 4
Revolver's "No Distortion" series invites heavy music artists to ditch their amps, pare down their songs, and showcase their intimate side. In this episode, Mike Scheidt, singer, guitarist and principal songwriter for sludge-doom act YOB, welcomes us onto his father's tree farm just outside of Eugene, Oregon, where he delivers a stripped-down, transcendent reinterpretation of their epic song "Marrow," from 2014's album 'Clearing the Path to Ascend.'
NECROPHOBIC - Mirror Black (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
INK - Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog/a tribute to Chris Cornell)
Distortions in Phantasy I: Lure
All This Filth - Reject The Machine (Lyric Video)
Pretty Boy Floyd - "Feel The Heat" (Official Music Video)
Ashley Worhol- "Listen to the Wind" (Official Music Video)
PARADISE LOST - Nick and Greg on why BIN isn't a happy album (OFFICIAL TRAILER)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
MMO's
By Mikeyboy636
March 10, 2021 in Gaming
Any MMO fans out there.
I watch a lot of MMO style anime's, and what gets me is the friendship's and the overall appreciation that yes everyone is gamer and therefore people are there to have fun. I play a lot of single player RPG's and only therefore a damn good story and content.
Yet recently downloaded WOW and just could not hit play, cowardly I know. A while back I started playing GW2, played couple of hours before realising it is just a bunch of people running about with very little or no story or interaction. I just didn't fancy getting started to only get bashed by long time players and the toxicity of some of the forums is less appealing.
Maybe I view MMO's as some sort of fairy tale and have built it up in my head of how awesome they are etc. Also whenever somebody suggests multiplayer to me all they want to play is fornite or apex which is my version of boredom … sorry avid fans just not for me.
I don't know, any input from people would be greatly appreciate or just general advice. I have played most modern AAA rpg's, currently trying to work my way through DOS'2 definitive edition, which sometimes can be a touch taxing so I don't play it all day every day.
As said any input greatly appreciate, cheers!
9 hours ago, Mikeyboy636 said:
I've encountered some of the same issues, to the point that I basically don't play MMO games anymore. At least not on public servers. They're either boring (fortnite) or the fanbase is toxic (Star Citizen) or both. GW2 - at least as of about a year ago - was one of the better ones, but it still had issues. It is extremely hard to find a game that has a mature, helpful player base. Sometimes it seems like the game producers aren't even trying to find ways to punish toxic play(ers) anymore. I also have an additional problem with simply finding time to play that pretty much rules out most of the more "grindy" games. Add platform incompatibilities and my own refusal to support certain companies' (like EA's or Sony's) business practices and .. that doesn't leave a lot.
Some things can help. Competition seems to bring out the worst in people so I try to avoid PvP and stick to PvE. Casual & socially-focused games seem better as well, in general. That doesn't work for everyone though, and even in stuff like creative-mode minecraft there's a certain class of player that just seems to get more out of the griefing process than from playing well with others. (That said, there's a certain appeal to the chaos of "anarchy" servers, including even such ancient and much-lambasted servers as 2b2t. Probably an acquired taste, but if you know what you're getting into and are mentally prepared they can be entertaining in their own f-ed up way. )
In general though my "solution" is to only play on private servers with trusted game-friends. That or stick to single-player mode. Sorry, I wish I had a better answer.
11 hours ago, efaardvark said:
Appreciate that. I shall probs stick to single player mode really. Dont have any friends who are into gaming so cant play on a specific server like that sooo we shall see. Hopefully in the future there will be some changes but who knows.
Ah, good ol MMO games. I would like to share my experience with the few I've played without writing a whole novel about it but egad was it a huge part of my life.
I think what you should consider first when starting an MMO is the most important bit: do you have the time for it? It doesn't make any difference how many mechanisms the developers put in place to make it feel like less of a grind or a chore. If you intend to commit to an MMO, you're going to be sinking potentially hundreds if not thousands of hours of your life into it. Especially if you intend to play with others, which is arguably the key selling point of the genre. If you join a raiding group for example, that comes with social expectations as well as new time commitments (logging on for raid during set schedules in the week, and set aside time to prep your character for them in between said times.)This is genuinely a full-time job for some players who like to challenge high-level content.
Secondary is whether you can afford it. If it's a free-to-play game, can you resist temptation to buy cosmetic services? Free-to-play is deceptively more expensive for certain personality types. A subscription-based model might cost you, say, 12-15 a month whereas that's the price of a cool mount or maybe a neat outfit for your character.
Thirdly, if it's story or lore you're interested in, be mindful that there is a huge disconnect between enjoying the game for the first time and doing so with other players. Most people who play an MMO are trying to rush through the content to reach the end game. Endgame content is ironically where a ton of the actual serious gameplay occurs. They will take the shortest path through the dungeon, skip all the cutscenes, and kill the boss as quickly as they can while exchanging no words with their party. They click through quest text and follow the map markers, often having no idea why they're doing things, understanding only that it nets XP. It's simply the reality of it and it doesn't seem to resemble the naïve representation of MMO games in anime.
The overall community of each game is also different depending which it is. A well-noted example of this is WoW and FF14. WoW is characterised by the 'rushed' gameplay noted above, and really the only way you're going to enjoy the story (and yes, there is in fact a very intricate one,) is if you go at it solo. Contrasting that, FF14 is known to be very story-focused, in fact, you have to complete the main quest line (which is loooooooooooooooong,) to even get to the endgame. The community however is much friendlier and might even talk to you during a Duty (a dungeon). It's not without its flaws and is also known to be incredibly grinde-y.
I understand Genshin Impact is the new up and rising MMO on the market, but I haven't played it and cannot give you a fair analysis about whether or not the experience is more pleasant compared to others. The jury is out for that one but from footage I've seen, it does appear to have a function in which you can switch between a multiplayer and single player layer to your liking.
Anyway, in the interest of this not being an obnoxiously long post, I would personally stick to single player games if you don't have the time and want to actually enjoy the story while playing it rather than reading it from a wiki page in your downtime.
Thanks for that, honestly you have put into perspective what I had guessed. I think my issues is time honestly, I probably get some time in the evening and some time over the weekend but none of it is ever guaranteed.
I'm interested by your comments on the way in which these games are played and I assume that unless you play an mmo on release date realistically the story is the second priority as people are trying to make their way through it to get to the end to play with the serious players.
Hmm food for thought, so thank again
13 hours ago, Mikeyboy636 said:
I think it just comes down to what people want in the gameplay, and the reality is that most people who play multiplayer games are not interested in the bells and whistles. They're not interested in who the boss is, or why they're fighting them, they want to hit it until it dies so they can brag to their friends that they did the most damage to it. That's not to say everyone is going to rush off to endgame content, but when the diving board and floaties are at the deep end and the kiddie pool is in your way, it doesn't matter how pretty you paint the bottom or how much you hope someone will notice it. The only ones who are going to notice it are the ones who aren't in any rush to go sit in the big pink donut. And when you add in things that are designed to promote player competition- such as Server Firsts, Regional Firsts, and World Firsts- then you have a game that seemingly rewards those players who want to nap on the way to their destination, regardless of whether the game is shiny new.
2xVEmmallee
Woah, some great insight here. I was recently looking at MMO games even though ive never been a gamer. A big hang up for me was that I'm no good at interaction with people, and i wondered what the gaming experience was like. The previous comme ts on this post were extremely informative.
2 hours ago, 2xVEmmallee said:
I hate people too. Well, some of the time. Maybe hate is too strong a word but interacting with people is definitely not one of my strengths, and it usually tires me out quickly. Over the years I've learned to overcome it but I'm definitely more on the introvert end of the scale.
That said, I do find that multiplayer online games can be fun. There are a lot of games that are multiplayer-optional too. Minecraft for instance will even let you start in single-player mode, then if you like you can open your single-player game up to other players on your local LAN. Ultimately of course Microsoft would like you to rent yourself a "realms" server from them and play online with a bunch of your friends (even friends not on your LAN), but they make it easy to start single-player and take baby-steps toward multiplayer as you're ready. Something like that might be good to start with. In fact, some of my best experiences with multiplayer gaming have been in "LAN party" mode, not MMO games per-se.
I would even say stay away from most of the big-name MMO games if you're at all unsure of yourself. Especially games like fortnite or PUBG that are highly competitive by design - arena-style "battle royale" or "last man standing" - can be quite intimidating to get into multiplayer. They can be fun once you do get familiar with it and I'm not saying stay away forever but I wouldn't make something like that my first choice. Unless you like learning to swim by jumping in the deep end of the pool of course. (For me they're boring too because there's no story or progression of any sort, just repetitive kill-or-be-killed on the same map(s) over and over. But that's more a personal preference sort of thing. Some people do enjoy that.)


The next day the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk spread his/her wings more easily and flew far more often. Juvy was getting stronger. Exploring the sky was beginning to become exciting — there were many places to go, lots of trees to look down upon. And there were other birds out there. Lots of them.
Juvenile Red-tails watch their feet intently while landing. Hawks are long-sighted. They need to be able to spot prey from great heights so their eyes have become adapted to that need over the centuries. But that means that their near vision is not as good. Remember how, when you first learned to drive, how you were worried about keeping the proper distance from the curb at the corner when executing a turn?
It is the same with Hawks. Learning to land is the trickiest of maneuvers so they watch their distance closely. Later when they come to know where there feet are they won't need to do this.
And off again; the rest periods are getting shorter.
By the third day the art of flying was being mastered; among other new maneuvers the bird was learning to drop his legs to slow his/her flight.
Enough for today, and the end of my shoot as the juvenile left shortly and so did I.
The next day I returned but the juvenile didn't. After a two hour wait, I gave it up.
So, for me the story is over for this year. You can bet I will be back next year!
This entry was posted in BIRD LIFE & BEHAVIOR, Red-Tail learns to fly Pt 2 and tagged Juvenile Red-tail Hawk, Juvenile Red-tail Hawk flying, Landing, learning to fly. Bookmark the permalink.
To-night Ienjoyed the story and pictures of the Red-tailed Hawk's First Flights, part 1 & 2. It's a fascinating journey. Good way to end an evening.
Your photos are miraculous and your narration explaining what the bird was doing was fascinating. I can't wait for further posts and also to read the archives. Thank you for recording the rarely seen beauty and wonderment of the natural world. I may have some Spotted Owls for you if you are interested. I live in Mill Valley.


Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tn.
Dr. Henry T. Blackaby is the founder and President Emeritus of Blackaby Ministries International, an organization 'built to help people experience God'.
Dr. Blackaby was born in British Columbia. He has devoted his lifetime to ministry. He studied English and History at the University of British Columbia as an undergrad and earned his B.D. and Th. M. from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds four honorary doctorate degrees!
In 1970, Dr. Blackaby followed God's call to pastor a tiny church in Saskatoon, Canada. That church, Faith Baptist Church grew, and led to the founding of thirty-eight new churches and became a pastoral training center. Dr. Blackaby went on to serve on staff at the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He also served as special assistant to the presidents of the International Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources. Officially retired, he still provides consultative leadership in the Christian community.
He has published many spiritually influential messages in his lifetime, most notably and my favorite: Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (1990) which has sold 7 million copies and has been translated into 45 languages. The other favorite of mine which I have also blogged about is Experiencing God Day-by-Day Devotional. Both of these books won the Gold Medallion Award.
His works are very much sound in Biblical doctrine and very uplifting and yet convicting.
Back on July 25, 2018 in reading my daily devotional from Experiencing God Day-by-Day by Dr. Blackaby, the devotional prompted me to study more in depth, Isaiah 35:1-10 where Isaiah talks about the 'Highway of Holiness'. This prompted me to write a blog about it https://standingfirmproducts.com/a-highway-of-holiness-what-is-it and to order this book by Dr. Blackaby, entitled Holiness…..
In this book, Blackaby addresses the need for accountability to God's word, for seeing sin from God's perspective, and for directing our lives back to Him, at every level!
God urgently wants His people to be holy–only then can you experience God's plan for fullness in your life.
The book is an easy read. It is only 106 pages long with only three chapters and an introduction. In the introduction, Dr. Blackaby shares a bit about his childhood and his father's strong call of God on his father and his life as he held true to his personal holiness. As a young man his life and message were shaped, as was his father's, with deep conviction of the return of the Lord and its accompanying accountability. He was greatly influenced by Oswald Chambers and Duncan Campbell.
Dr. Blackaby, trembled before God as he realized God's people no longer feared God nor sin, and no longer sought holiness! (This was in the 1960's, imagine how he feels today!) He prayered fervently and faithfully proclaimed God's Word and Truths to His people. Many were saved and many new churches created over the years of His faithful service.
This chapter is very, very convicting. Dr. Blackaby talks about revival and the fact that revival is for the believers who have slipped away. You can't revive what never had life. In other words, those who are lost, must first be saved. Revival is for those who had it and have let it go. We do need REVIVAL for all of the believers who are living in sin and have no fear of God. No fear of sin. They believe because they once believed that they are saved and they don't have a clue of what is going to happen to them on judgment day. God does judge some while here on the earth. Just take a look at your family and what is happening in families that were once God-fearing, Bible believing families!
If revival in American depended on your prayer life would there be a revival? Are you praying, are you praying with your family, with your friends, your church? In your church alone, there are enough of God's people, if they were serious with God, they could turn the course of our nation!
One definition of sin in 1 John 3:4 is that sin is lawlessness (or rebellion). Rebellion is when one knows what God says and chooses not to obey. James 4:17 says Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. These are just a few of the many verses in Scripture which tells us what sin looks like from God's perspective. Blackaby makes a very strong case explaing how we cannot ignore what Scripture says. God has given us His Word and told us what sin looks like and how it grieves Him and He hates sin. We must deal with our sin immediately.
I will leave my summary of Chapter two at this spot. You MUST read this book and read the rest of what Dr. Blackaby has to say about Looking at Sin from God's perspective. It is all about Him! It is not about us. We are here for His purpose, not ours!
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
But it shall be for others.
It shall not be found there.
Dr. Blackaby refers to a Revival in Brownwood, Texas in 1996 and where many people felt the presence of God and were convicted of their past sins and came forward to repent and confess their sins. He talks about the message he was hearing from God during that four day event. He heard from God that if sin is not exposed when we preach that there is something wrong with our lives in their holiness.
The Scripture says that when God builds a highway, it is a highway of holiness! The highway of holiness is something that God creates, but when God creates a highway of holiness, it exposes sin like a refiner's fire!
Scripture says if we meet the condition of holiness in our lives, He will bless us. We must come to Him with clean hearts. We must confess our sin and repent. A pastor who preaches a message to a congregation with unrepented sin will not see fruit and neither will an individual receive answered prayer when they come to Him with unconfessed sin and without a repentant heart.
This chapter is so strong. I will not go further except to say that the Word of God is truly spoken in this short book. It is so convicting and powerful, I pray that you will purchase this book and sit down and read it asap!
I highly recommend this book and all of Dr. Henry T. Blackaby's books and those of others in his ministry.
You may click here to take you to Amazon or click here to go to Christianbook.com where you may purchase this book or others of Dr. Blackaby if you feel called to do so.
Please enter your comments below about this blog. We welcome your feedback. Please note if you leave comments you are giving your approval for us to store your contact info for future communications. We do not share your info with any third parties.
A Highway of Holiness – What is it?


text:
16. The name of Joanna Dark, the protagonist of the Perfect Dark video game series, is a play on the name of French heroine Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc). – Source
17. The iconic Australian hat is bent up on one side to allow the armed forces to maneuver rifles on and off their shoulders without hitting the brim. – Source
18. The bar scenes in "Passengers" (2016) pay homage to the bar in the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" (1980). The look and layout is similar and both "barmen" wearing red are not human. – Source
19. New Hampshire is the only state with no adult seatbelt laws. Seatbelts are only required for minors ages 17 and under in that state. According to 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, it also had the lowest percentage of seatbelt usage among the 50 states, at just 67.6%. – Source
20. Karman line is the border that separates the Earth's atmosphere from outer space. It is defined as being 100 km above sea level by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. This is regarded as the starting point of outer space, i.e. where the atmosphere is too thin to support flight. – Source
21. The current largest known thing in the universe is a black hole (Ton 618). It has a mass equal to 66 billion Suns and its accretion disk is one of the brightest things in the Universe. – Source
22. In a four-year span, road debris caused more than 200,000 car crashes, resulting in approximately 39,000 injuries and more than 500 deaths in the US. – Source
23. Two Brazilian spectators committed suicide in the stadium of the 1950 FIFA World Cup Final after their team lost. – Source
24. The first book featuring a ship going into outer space and meeting aliens was written in the 2nd century AD. – Source
25. Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker always had a fear of dying in a plane crash. The band released an album in 2001 where each band member was given a symbol on the cover that represented them. He was given a plane in spite of begging against it. Seven years later he almost died in a plane crash. – Source
25 Uplifting Headlines of the Week - Part 275
20 Kickass and Interesting Facts About Mars
25 Kickass and Interesting Facts About Space
10 More Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Fruits you should try


With over 150 mobile repair rigs, they make your life easier by bringing the bodyshop to you and your customers, saving time and hassle.
This is the key to their mobile service as it enables them to repair your or your customers vehicle in a fully-enclosed bodyshop environment.
Depending on the damage, they use a variety of techniques to repair steel, aluminium and plastic on both conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles, with special lamps to cure the paintwork.


text:
The Most Outrageous Claims in UNESCO's Latest Attack on the Jewish People
Last October, UNESCO (the UN Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization), was widely rebuked and ridiculed for passing a one-sided, hypocritical resolution that denied the millennia-old Jewish link to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Judaism's holiest site. Sponsored by seven Arab nations—Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan—the resolution failed to garner a majority. This marked a significant setback for those seeking to use the UN to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before and after the vote, nations reversed their decisions and apologized for supporting the measure. Even UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova criticized the resolution.
Exclusive AJC eBook - 2017: Israel's Triple Anniversary Year
In the Face of Tragedy, the Jewish Community of Puerto Rico Makes a Difference
It's been over a month since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, but the hardships facing the residents are far from over. Today, 85 percent of the island remains without electricity, telecommunications are cut, basic goods are scarce, and the economy is plummeting. Amid the devastation, the Jewish community has emerged as a bastion of support. With a little more than 1,500 members in a general population of 3.4 million, this small but active community has mobilized its own resources and those of Jewish organizations in the United States to help their neighbors in need.
Leader of Chile's Jewish community: "President Piñera will seek improved ties with the state of Israel"
Former President Sebastián Piñera won Chile's presidential election on Sunday, December 17. His triumph demonstrates a turn towards the center-right in a region that has been dominated by leftist movements for over a decade. In 2012, Piñera became the first Chilean president to visit Israel, a fact that sets great expectations for the future of bilateral cooperation.
Exclusive AJC eBook: Israel: A National Reborn
As we celebrate Israel's birthday, read this powerful essay by AJC CEO David Harris on the history and meaning of Israel's remarkable journey.
(-) Blog Post (6)
(-) Israel
(-) Latin America
(-) Global Voice


text:
Anchorage Parks & Trails
Independence Mine State Historical Park
At its peak, the Independence hard-rock gold mine was home to 206 workers and 16 families who lived high above tree line. Digging and blasting, these workers recovered 140,000 ounces of gold before the mine shut down in the wake of World War II. Designated a state historical site in 1982, the state has worked to preserve the 22 buildings that remain, and offers guided tours of the mine site daily at 1 and 3 p.m. ($6). Learn about government gold-price policies in the 1930s, visit a room in the bunkhouse and hear about life at the mine, and see the difference between placer and hard-rock gold mining.
There are 1.5 miles of paved walkways throughout the site, with informational placards for a self-guided tour. Standing in the rugged environment near 4,000 feet, the mine is surrounded by rocky peaks and alpine tundra. It's a spectacular setting, so bring your camera and warm clothes. (It's only one hour from Palmer, but the temperature here can be much colder). Several hiking trails from the mine lead to alpine lakes and panoramic views. Between the scenic drive and time at the mine, it's easy to pass an entire day, but plan at least 4 hours, including the drive from Palmer.


text:
The story of Detroit's socialist mayor
Ping, not Bing
Detroit Mayor Hazen S Pingree
Once, a long, long time ago, there was a mayor of Detroit who got it right. He figured out what was wrong — mainly government corruption and corporate greed.
More importantly, he figured out how to fix it.
He had no political experience. He was a little fat man with a pale face, scraggly beard and cold blue eyes. To the end of his days, he called himself a conservative Republican.
His opponents, sounding very much like today's Tea Party lunatics, called him a socialist. He didn't give a damn.
He helped the poor, had no use for big corporations, and for seven glorious years as mayor of Detroit, he kicked their ass.
His name was Hazen Pingree. He wasn't a politician, but a shoemaker, and he wasn't from Michigan, but Maine.
Ping came here almost by accident. He was in a prison camp during the Civil War, listening to some fellow POWs from Detroit talk about what a great place it was. When the war ended, he moved here. Ping — everybody called him Ping — started making shoes. Twenty years later, he was the second-biggest shoe manufacturer in the nation.
But the city he lived in was deeply corrupt. Detroit was being run by private utilities and bar owners, and a deeply corrupt city council. People and businesses were charged high rates for inferior service. Money disappeared.
Detroit in 1890, the year he took office, had only four paved streets. Everything else was mud or rotting logs. Pingree made no extravagant promises. He just got it done.
He figured out a way to spread tax increases out over several years and to float bonds to pave the streets. He set up stings to catch corrupt interests who were offering the councilmen bribes. He took on utilities, forcing them to roll back their rates for natural gas and electricity.
After years of struggle, he forced the streetcar company to charge people less. He said he learned that corporations "had to be kept in their proper place. It is not safe to entrust the government of the country to Wall Street."
The corporations were shocked. Pingree had no tact. He was not charming. Unlike President Obama, who seems to have to learn over and over again that the right-wingers have no intention of compromising or bargaining in good faith, Pingree didn't try for smooth compromises with the forces lined up against him.
He just did what was right, appealed to the people, and plowed straight ahead. His crowning success came when he decided the city should have its own public lighting plant.
If you go back and read the attacks of the opposition, you'd swear today's Tea Party wrote them all. Pingree was a socialist. He was destroying the Constitution.
Freedom would be dead, they said. When Detroiters went to the polls, 92 percent approved his brand of socialism.
Later that year, a severe depression hit the nation — the Panic of 1893. Detroit's workers were especially hard hit. Nobody then thought government had any obligation to do anything for the poor. Hazen Pingree, years ahead of his time, thought otherwise. He ordered all city land plowed up — including the City Hall lawn — so the poor could plant vegetables, especially potatoes. He asked the city's churches for help. After they coughed up a mere $13.80, he sold his prize racehorse and used the money to buy seed and supplies.
They called them "Pingree's potato patches," and they were a great success. "Whole families could be seen planting, hoeing and weeding, and when fall came they harvested a large crop of potatoes, squashes, turnips, sweet corn," according to a popular history of Detroit published a few years later.
No mayor ever did more for the city. Pingree then wanted to be governor. For several years, conservatives blocked his nomination, until two things happened.
Business and corporate leaders in Detroit wanted Ping out of the city. They knew they could never beat him, but they persuaded the Republican bosses that the lobbyists and entrenched special interests in Lansing could easily buy off the Legislature and prevent any of his reforms.
Plus, they realized they needed the state's only really popular Republican to head the ticket in the fall of 1896. So Pingree ran and was elected by a landslide.
Bizarrely, he thought he could still be mayor as well as governor, and did both jobs for a few weeks, until the Michigan Supreme Court said he had to quit one job.
So he turned his energies to the state.
Unlike many today, Pingree was a purely self-made — but not selfish — man. He especially wanted to make the railroads, which completely dominated transportation, to start paying their fair share of taxes. He told the Legislature he wanted to end child labor and establish an eight-hour workday. He wanted a graduated income tax, so the rich would pay their fair share (something Michigan still doesn't have).
Unfortunately, he almost completely failed. The corporate interests of the day were a lot like Matty Moroun, but a lot smarter. They didn't spread money around; they just bought a majority of the state Senate, who blocked just about everything Ping tried to do, despite a huge popular outcry.
Ping did manage to get a state constitutional amendment passed which led to eventual taxation — and regulation — of the railroads. He managed to get more money for the schools.
But otherwise, he was frustrated. After four years, he quit, telling the legislature that unless something was done to change how vastly unfair things were, "in less than a quarter century there will be a bloody revolution in this great country of ours."
With that, he went off to Africa in 1901 to hunt elephants, stopped in Germany to study reforestation, and suddenly got sick and died. Thousands of schoolchildren donated pennies to build a statue to the only governor they knew who cared.
Today, nearly forgotten, that statue sits in Grand Circus Park near the place where today's city government — the ineffective mayor, the irrational city council — is about to have their powers taken away by an emergency financial manager.
You might walk over to it sometime and read what it says on the base. Part of it is this: He was the first to warn the people of the great danger threatened by powerful private corporations. And the first to awake to the great inequalities in taxation and to initiate steps for reform.
He stood up to the fools and exploiters who were the equivalent of the Tea Party and the Koch brothers today, and for seven years as mayor, beat them time and again.
My guess, dear reader, is that you never heard any of this.
You might ask yourself why.
Republican Party follies: There was a lot of attention last week paid to the efforts in the Democratic Party to get a sort of perestroika by ousting their longtime apparatchik, Mark Brewer, as chair. That finally happened.
But what was largely overlooked was what happened on the GOP side, where Chair Bobby Schostak had the support of the governor and every other establishment official.
Nevertheless, he barely managed to get 52 percent of the vote against a howling Tea Party lunatic, one Todd Courser, who then got up and pleaded over and over again with God to "save the country and restore the republic."
"I beg your mercy on our country," he bleated.
Afterward, God was not available for an interview. But if anyone wonders why it's hard to make rational compromises with these folks on things like preventing the economy from going over the fiscal cliff, there are a few clues here.
Jack Lessenberry opines weekly for Metro Times. Contact him at letters@metrotimes.com.
Politics & Prejudices


Runcore has announced that they will be opening a state of the art SSD manufacturing facility in Changsha, China. This move is apparently part of a plan to spur unprecedented growth in the company over the next three years. When finished, according to Runcore, the new plant will offer "the most advanced production capabilities in the industry" giving them an eminent advantage over any would be competitors.
Indeed, it seems the only thing left for Runcore at this point is the establishment of a larger market presence. Being a relatively small manufacturer, this goal has, thus far, been out of reach for the firm, until now that is. Although, Runcore didn't go into detail, when the factory is completed three years from now, they should have an added production capacity of over 1 million SSDs per year, providing a solid opportunity to increase their marketshare substantially. Certainly, it will be interesting to see how well they capitalize on their new capital investment.
Another positive aspect of this announcement is, of course, related to price, which should see some pretty substantial reductions over the next couple of years, especially as Runcore's new production line starts ramping up. This is exceptionally good news for them, as their products have always commanded a small but definite price premium over competitors offerings. Considering the attention to detail and the quality of the SSDs, this is to be expected, but if Runcore can manage to stay the course with their standards while at the same time lowering price, they really will be a force to be reckoned with.
In all, it's encouraging to see the continued expansion of the SSD industry. Seeing as Runcore is considered by many to be one of the premiere providers of solid state storage devices, I really can't imagine another company's products I'd like to see more of in the marketplace. As more and more manufacturers are seemingly popping up out of nowhere, it's nice to have a solid baseline that can be considered a gold standard of sorts while at the same time many other firms are cutting certain corners in order to get the final price as low as possible. It will be interesting to watch Runcore really come into their own.
Now is an excellent time to be interested in this industry, even more so now, as Runcore may end up becoming the next "Chinese Miracle" right before our eyes.


"Please go with Vijay." "What if we don't want to?"
Kathryn has been in and out of mental hospitals most of his life.
I thought Mark's plan was a good one.
We can't even be certain that it was Max we saw.
Tricia doesn't want to hurt us.
Page listened carefully to everything Lar said.
Jorge must've had a reason.
Eileen fell asleep on the couch while watching TV.
Miltos works as a croupier in a casino.
Manuel saw everything that happened.
Gretchen might have missed the train. He hasn't arrived yet.
Marcia got in his car and drove away.
I thought you said Brandy would never hurt Urs.
Eduardo's partner thought that they should also sell gourmet popcorn seasonings.
Margot should be back any minute.
Leung goes to bed at the same time every night.
Rod went downtown to buy supplies.
Bertrand wouldn't let me help him.
What can we do for Syun?
Collin says he's too sick to get out of bed.
Josip is drop dead gorgeous.
Hank doesn't have an appointment.
Mara wants me to stay away from him.
Eva carried the duffle bag on his shoulder.
Maybe you should have a little talk with Eli.
Jean goes camping every summer.
Roderick offered Dawson half of his sandwich.
Tai heard an explosion and ran outside to see what had happened.
How did you discover that Dion was the one who had embezzled the money?
Alan ate up all the cookies.


Before I Wake is a horror film where the title just makes sense. If you just hear the title you can probably guess the general synopsis of the film. The quick response you will always think of though is just "Wake the Kid up" Well, one character tries at any rate. Probably should have tried harder though. It's a decent film if we go by horror film standards, but it still couldn't cut the mustard overall. It just mainly lacks a good ending but more on that later.
The film starts off with an edgy opening as a Dad tries to murder his son but isn't able to do it and the cops arrest him. It turns out that this kid's dreams become reality as long as he is asleep. When he wakes they all vanish. Unfortunately, the more Cody uses this ability, the more the monster that is inside of him shows up. His monster has already destroyed the last few families he was with so now we are introduced to the latest foster parents, Mark and Jessie. Unfortunately they may not be ready for this kid as they are dealing with their own issues. Can they defeat the monster?
I admit that if I had Cody's powers I would barely even notice. I rarely dream which is kind of unfortunate but it's because I found the trick to it. If you start thinking about 2 stocking people and winning Super Smash tournaments, you eventually black out and then it's the next day. I can't tell you how many times I've won EVO. All right, back on topic. I have to say that the kid dreams extremely fast since the visions seem to occur the moment his head hits the pillow. The dreams are awful convenient but as the kid is fairly young I Guess it makes sense that he would dream about his latest thoughts. The kid isn't a bad character. Cody is pretty cryptic but at least he has good reason to be since people try to destroy him and even monsters are on the hunt. He does have his iffy moments though as he will intentionally ask the parents personal questions about how their son died in order to take attention away from him. It does show that he's not a very nice kid at times and is mainly looking out for himself.
Mark is definitely a solid character. He does his best to get along with the kid and gives him a lot of fun days. It's not enough to totally get rid of the sleeping problem but the Dad does his best. He also charges at the monster which is more than I can say for 90% of horror protagonists. He got a decent grab in but since the monster assimilates anyone it touches, this didn't work out too well.
Jessie was not a good character though and realllly takes a long time to get over her past. The film does give a nice misdirect here we initially you may think the Dad is the one who isn't coping well. He stopped coming to the grief club to wallow in sorrow and Jessie claims that he has been distant. The film quickly shows us that it is the opposite way around. She just can't get over her last kid, Sean, and as soon as she learns that this one can make dreams real she exploits the ability to make Cody dream of her son. Even though the son is fake it's good enough for her but of course this means she is neglecting her current son. She even goes as far as to drug Cody to keep him asleep. While she sees the light by the end, it certainly took a while and I can't say that I'm a fan of hers.
The ending also isn't great. Basically, they can't bring any of the victims back since they were completely eaten but the heroes take solace in the fact that they can all be together in the afterlife or whenever the kid dreams about them. That's a small consolation at best and it probably would have been better if at least the Dad had survived. The people from child support lived, but I guess it's because they were assimilated into walls instead of the monster. Also, the film quickly teased a fight between the monster and the mother as they ran towards each other but it ended up being a hug instead. I was really hoping for the fight as she would try to avenge her husband.
The tragic backstory for the main characters was also needlessly tragic. Instead of having their kid drowned and then they couldn't have more kids, the film could have skipped the former and started with the latter. Maybe even just have the kid get sick or something. Drowning is a bit much for a child. I also have to then question the handle bars that the family added for when they have more kids. They looked to be a little too high up if the kid was the same height so what was the point again? I think the bars would have to be lowered a little more to serve their intended purpose.
I'll give the main characters some props for figuring out how the kids powers worked very quickly. Usually most of the film is spent just trying to get the supporting characters to re learn what common sense is. Here that wasn't really a problem. Finally, I should also talk about the monster's design. It's pretty good and sort of looks like Slenderman. The monster has a few nifty abilities like assimilation and super strength. He isn't very fast, but doesn't trip so he will eventually catch you. Assuming that this monster will help the heroes in a sequel, we're going to need a new monster.
Overall, Before I Wake definitely has an interesting premise. It also is classier than most horror films but still gets needlessly grim at times. The beginning and ending are weak. While the middle is decent, the repetition of the drowning scene doesn't help it either. I don't expect many horror fans will find this all that scary so you'll have to enjoy it for the plot. I'd sooner recommend a film like Poltergeist 3. That one had everything you could ask for from a horror film.
Well, I knew that the Netflix deal was a bad idea from the instant that I heard about it. My worst fears came true and this part of the continuity is best left forgotten. It is simply too extreme. I suppose that I'll have a review for it someday, but don't expect this series to end anytime soon.


text:
China History
Stalin's China Policy
It takes a special kind of man to make Josef Stalin look like a leader who truly just wanted the best for all people. Mao was that special kind of man.
Stalin and other Soviet Communists defined imperialism as the maintenance of a large-scale, multinational, state which extended overseas. Thus, in Stalin's view, the United Kingdom and France were major imperialist powers, with extensive overseas possessions, while China, India, and the Soviet Union were simply large countries with extensive territories and a multinational population. Whether Stalin's dislike of "imperialism" was ideological or pragmatic is beside the point — Stalin's post-war Soviet Union was focused on dismantling the "imperialist" powers, and not a general world revolution against capitalism.
In early post-war India, the Communists acted in a "united front" with the ruling Indian National Congress to consolidate Indian national power. The Communist "revolutions" in India, such as the against Hyderabad, were simply a part of Congress's war against the princely states. The Communist Party of India never achieved national power, and from the point of view of Stalin, this was fine. India steadily removed the "imperialist" remnants, while the Communists patiently waited for India to develop economically.
Stalin's plan for China was similar. The purpose of the Chinese communists was not to establish a democratic people's republic in East Asia but to assist the KMT in abolishing the treaty ports, extraterritoriality, and not assist the United Kingdom or France in foreign policy endeavors. The Chinese Communists, who were more ambitious than their Indian counterparts, could not understand why Stalin and COMINTERN kept instructing them to harm their own interests and support the KMT. The reason was that Stalin's objective was not a "Communist" China… Stalin's objective was an "anti-imperialist" China. If the early General Secretaries of the Chinese Communist Party — such as Chen Duxiu, Xiang Zhongfa, and Wang Ming — had triumphed, China would have slums but no Great Leap Forward and no Cultural Revolution. If Zhou Enlai had not sided with Mao, Zhou (and tens of millions of other Chinese) might have lived longer.
Instead of the guiding hand of Stalin, the Chinese Communists followed Mao into a catastrophe.
There are very few countries in the world, where if the leadership had been more affectionate toward Stalin, there would have been less trouble.
China is one of those countries.
← Thoughts from "Mao Zedong: The Unknown Story," by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
China: Past, Present, and Future →
The Rise of the Communists and the Fall of the KMT
Books History
Review of "The Treasure of Rennes le Chateau" by Bill Putnam and John Edwin Wood
Books China History
Review of "Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation," by Victor Shih


In her first interview since her mother, Carrie Fisher, and grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, died within days of each other, Billie Lourd talked with Sarah Paulson for Town and Country magazine. The interview contains lots of little nuggets about family life with a truly wild family.
BL: He gets home at the same time every day, and we eat dinner together, we do homework together, we watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and cry, and then go to sleep. At Mom's it was like, "Let's put Christmas lights in the palm trees at 2 a.m." Do you remember when Sharper Image was 24 hours?
BL: We went there all the time, 1 a.m. or 3 a.m., just picking up little trinkets as if that was what you do!
SP: How did you feel about her sharing those things?
SP: Did she listen to you?
SP: Did you get any advice from your family about this business?
In a bittersweet moment, Lourd reflects that loosing such two huge personalities from her life has an unexpected side—she's not competing with them anymore.
SP: How has your life changed since your mother and grandmother passed?
BL: I've always kind of lived in their shadows, and now is the first time in my life when I get to own my life and stand on my own. I love being my mother's daughter, and it's something I always will be, but now I get to be just Billie.
You can and should read the whole interview, which has many more stories about this legendary mother-daughter duo.


Another Gorgeous Friday Morning in Mazatlán | ¡VidaMaz!
Sometimes routines can be a really good thing. We hike the lighthouse hill, as you know, several times a week. It's wonderful to see those who also have that routine, and to notice the small, day-to-day and week-to-week changes.
Sunrises are always gorgeous here, and today's over the harbor was no exception.
Flowers are in full glory right now. The smell is intoxicating, and they are also a definite feast for the eyes. I love how the flowering vines grow over and decorate the cacti, and I especially love watching the shrimp boats just outside the port.
The other day we noticed some young men painting new murals on the walls of Colegio Pacífico on the hill. There was already one there from 2011, but now there are quite a few more.
And, finally, as we worked our way home to start the day's work, we met up with a march for World Mental Health Day. Marines, nurses, and a whole lot of young people took part in the parade. It was encouraging to see.
And, we're showered and at our desks by 9:00 am! Thank you, Mazatlán, for all your beauty!


While all-Creatures does not condone the use of animals for entertainment purposes which this sanctuary promotes, we thought you'd love to see this kind of interspecies adoration.
When hurricane Hannah separated two white baby tigers from their mother, Anjana the chimp came to the rescue.
Anjana, at TIGERS Sanctuary in South Carolina, became surrogate mom and playmate to the cubs, even helping with bottle feeding. But here's the truly amazing part... Anjana does this all the time, having raised leopard and lion cubs in the past.