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Higher Education, Model Minorities, and Music
In the grand tradition of the Jewish Intellectual, most of my family members work in or around academia. There's good historical reasoning behind this: the one area where it's pretty much always safe to be a Jew is higher education. In entertainment circles, Jews have shitloads of institutional power but can't appear onscreen unless they get nose jobs or play the fool; in finance, Jews remain securely entrenched, but inevitably you'll court the greedy Shylock stereotype (see: Goldman Sachs, Bernie Madoff, most of Obama's financial team); in lobbying and law "¦ well, everybody hates lobbyists and lawyers, so that doesn't count. Academia in the U.S. is the only place where a Jew is considered 100% White and has standard White privilege. Granted, there are Socialism accusations all over the place (holla to my blacklisted forebears!), but we're typically insulated from anti-Semitism, at least within the greater institutional structure itself.
Mind, this wasn't always the case–not too long ago, Jews weren't allowed into plenty of schools, private or public. That, however, went kaput a generation or so past, and Jews have an enormous institutional advantage in higher ed–not so much disproportionate as in line with what other "true," "non-ethnic" Whites enjoy. It's kind of fun! I never worry that my ethnicity holds me back from admissions, fellowships, teaching gigs, institutional approval "¦ of course, I get grief from a few old guys for being female, but if anything, being a Jewish female actually helps me in the sense that the heads of half the departments root for me as "one of the tribe." As a Jew, I have an In. It's been quite enjoyable, and a remarkably pleasant change from growing up in Virginia in the 1970s and '80s, where adults were still getting used to the concept of non-Black folk who weren't blondes (don't get me started on the blonde thing; I swear, I get all rage-y trigger-y about blondes. If you're a blonde, I preemptively apologize).
Nowadays, as an educator primarily working with foreign students in U.S. universities, I'm encountering another version of what it can mean to be ethnic in higher ed. I'm (broadly) a writing teacher, largely for Korean students pursuing doctoral degrees in the U.S. (roughly 85% of my clientele at the moment); most come here with a Master's degree from Seoul National University, and more than half have additional Master's from various U.S. schools. Of these, all but two are women; approximately 75% are in music programs; and a slight majority of those are performers. Unfortunately for both my bank account and my rather alarming temper, that majority is starting to slip: I've lost three female Korean DMA (Doctorate in Musical Arts) candidates in the past year or so, completely through the efforts (and/or lack of effort) of a few fuckwads in the institutional structure.
New York City does not lack for non-Whites. Flushing is the single most ethnically and nationally diverse community in the world, the city boasts the largest Haitian and Puerto Rican populations outside of those islands, everyone is assumed to be from "somewhere else" "¦ this is a city of immigrants. As has always been the case, the children of these immigrants make heavy use of the educational systems; the international nature of the city also attracts many foreign nationals to its schools. Logically, NYC schools should be the last place to run into petty, unfounded biases based on skin color and accent; it should be a given that less-than-fluent and heavily accented English in no way indicates a less-than-astute mind. However, in all the music departments of the NYC institutions I've worked with/for/in/around, there are people in positions of enormous power who treat my students with the utmost disrespect for their intelligence. One person in particular, unfortunately the head of the performance division at a major university, seems to take a dislike to certain students for little or no reason, and continually thwarts their progress on the grounds of insufficient subject mastery.
I have taught most of the women pushed out of the degree program by this guy; I can say unreservedly that all were quite intelligent and capable in the non-performance areas of the program (one was doing some straight-up brilliant work in her thesis). So imagine my surprise when, one by one, I kept hearing about well-prepared exams being deemed unsatisfactory, solid dissertation proposals being rejected as weak, and insightful commentary being dismissed as unworthy of consideration. What was this fuckery? Was it just the one guy with too much power deciding to give shit to people who, as Korean women specifically, were generally raised to submit to the opinions of their professional superiors, and would also be afraid to seek redress in a system where they had no connections to power? Was the problem system-wide? Why these women in particular?
There are some striking similarities in the women targeted:
1) They're quite smart, and therefore attempt to contribute more in discussion and tackle complex subjects than less intellectually-oriented students. When White performers do this, they are typically revered as "true artists"; however, East Asians in particular are expected to excel at technical mastery alone. I've seen institutional bias in music schools of all degree levels against those who defy such expectations.
2) Being smart, these performers push themselves to use more difficult vocabulary to better express their ideas; the result is an uptick in opportunities to hear broken English. The saddest part for me is that this aspect is specifically where I come in–yes, writing must be academic, formal, and idiomatic, and that's what I help with. The students I like best are those who push themselves beyond simple, already-mastered language. Why would someone penalize those putting the most effort into things, those challenging their limits?
3) I didn't realize this for a while, but two of the three women pushed out recently (and both of my current students struggling to stay in) are singers. Within the music world, East Asians are generally assumed to be instrumentalists, and only a few vocalists have risen to the top of the field. Again, where reality defies stereotype, the reaction on the part of the people in power is one of confusion, and therefore defensiveness and rejection.
Back to the "smart" thing: East Asians are considered a "model minority" in most professional areas of the U.S., most certainly including academia. However, transfer that model to a context in which there are conflicts–put a supposedly acquiescent and silent woman in an artsy, less-intellectual field, and watch her nonetheless express an active mind–and you automatically see a bunch of threatened old guys who expect everything to fall in line with an imaginary system in which all Asians are meek and modest, all women are governed by emotion and lack pure logic, and all singers are just plain stupid. The number of men pushed out of the program? Zero. Number of Whites pushed out of the program? Zero. Number of native English speakers pushed out? Zero. Despite the fundamentally international and multiracial nature of a university in a city of immigrants, and despite the likewise international context of the professional music world, the victims of institutional bias in these cases were uniform in cultural markers.
Most of my students know that I'm Jewish, and have commented enthusiastically on the similarities they see between traditional Korean and Jewish culture. The overarching thread is of the importance of education; with music in particular, there's emphasis on the professional mastery achieved by international players in eras of significant migration. I love this connection, and am fairly devastated that there are people within the field whose actions threaten the bridges we're trying to build with words and music. I have spent the past year trying to convince some of my students to go higher up in the power structure and complain about their treatment; I've offered to use my name, to go directly to people with whom I have influence, to act with the utmost discretion to ensure that nothing can be traced back to anyone I work with. In the middle of February, after yet another comprehensive exam attempt was rejected, someone finally spoke up, albeit softly; I'm waiting for permission to work my connections with the Jewish Intellectuals who lead the department, and for my students to return to work on their dissertations with me. Hopefully it happens soon, or I (and my landlady) will regret that my family of academics never sent any feeler cousins into the financial sector.
Posted on Monday, March 14th, 2011 Thursday, January 12th, 2012 Author 14KGoldCategories Op EdTags anti Semitism, education model, goldman-sachs, grand tradition, institutional approval, institutional power, institutional structure, model minorities, nose jobs, white privilege
17 thoughts on "Higher Education, Model Minorities, and Music"
soitgoes says:
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 at 1:56 am
I'm going to be speaking broadly here. Female Asian vocal students are almost never on par with vocal students from the western world. It has to do with how women are "trained" to speak in those gendered cultures. The breathy, nasal, stereotyped "Asian" girly voice is no joke, and part of adjusting that toward a doctoral-level vocal program is completely changing the way these women speak. It can take years to combat the fears that come along with speaking "assertively." While abstractly sad, it's not really anyone's fault if these women don't meet the criteria for the school. Getting the degree you want from the school you want is not a birthright. Music schools are conservative and have their own internal cultures.
I know you're coming at this from an academic perspective, but there are real reasons why Asian women are not always a great fit for American vocal programs.
14KGold says:
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 8:00 am
However, you're missing the point–they are not being pushed out because of their vocal prowess–which, incidentially, is quite strong, given that most have been taught for a very long time how to differentiate between speaking Korean and singing classical Western repertoire–but because the department folk think they're unintelligent based on their language skills. You're making the mistake of conflating two issues.
As for the vocal fit, if a person has been accepted into a program, the presumption is that said acceptance was based on their meeting the standards applied. Furthermore, speaking broadly on 'Asian women' in voice is absurd; Hindi is very different from Thai, from Chinese, from Japanese. The languages all have varying degrees of nasality, tonalism, pronounciation… just as English accents do. It doesn't get much more nasal than North Carolinean, North Central Plains, Baltimorean… but no one would suggest that someone born in Charlotte is fundamentally incapable of vocal prowess because of it. You're making an invalid assumption that speaking and singing are treated the same way by performers. That is emphatically not the case.
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
I admitted I was speaking broadly, and you yourself brought up the students' being singers and the attendant stereotypes as a contributing factor to being booted. If you're not a vocal teacher, you can't decide whether they're good enough. Additionally, I've seen students get accepted to music graduate programs on potential that they ended up not fulfilling. Lots of music students get kicked out of lots of music programs for not toeing the line.
Not to negate your feelings, but there's an aspect of institutionalized music graduate programs that you don't seem to be 100% attuned to. It's actually worth investigating: lots of women get accepted into music programs with great ideas for expansion and they're kicked out in part because there's no one on staff who's an expert in that branch of the field/qualified to be a thesis reader. Modernists are almost always accepted and then marginalized, if not entirely kicked out. I was accepted into and then kicked out of my first music history graduate program. I met the technical standards for admission but did not mesh well with the acting standards of the department as it operated at that time. It happens and it's common.
Thursday, March 17th, 2011 at 4:02 am
Actually, as a vocalist and graduate of conservatory in addition to my current activities in higher ed generally, yes, I have a fairly good idea of how programs work. These women are very much meeting the vocal demands of the department, as I mentioned; you, not having heard them perform, would not know this firsthand, but given that I did teach and study voice extensively, you can take my assessment at face value.
You also seem to confuse 'speaking broadly' with making invalid generalizations. You do realize that Asia contains over 100 language families, yes? Those families are vocalized very differently, so to talk 'broadly' of such things is to make assumptions based on your own limited understanding rather than the vast range of factual evidence.
Finally, it's not my 'feelings' that you are attempting to 'negate': it is cold, hard reality. It appears that you are taking your limited experiences and opinions and attempting to read them as broad-based evidence. That is a form of institutional privilege and indicative of, frankly, an unearned sense of superiority akin to "I am a boy and I am telling you this."
I wasn't trying to tell you how to feel. I was reminding you that you're not their vocal teacher and it is therefore not up to you to declare them fit for the school. Comment on their writing, which you see and assess daily. But you can't know what's going on in their vocal lessons.
HelloKitty says:
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 10:55 am
Question: where are you encountering these East Asian women singers? Is this your experience in an academic or professional environment?
I encountered them while in my own doctoral music program. Which is why I respect, but don't necessarily take at face value, a writing teacher's outrage at the music department's assessment that these students are not living up to the school's expectations. It's like if your EN-101 teacher vouched for a math major who was flunking her math courses. If you're not working in the department of the student's actual major, I'm not sure you get a say as to whether the student deserves to stay.
HidinginCanada says:
Monday, March 14th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Wow. This is really a horrific situation. I really hope you'll be able to do something for these women; is there a higher authority these applicants can appeal to for a second opinion?
There is indeed… that's what I've been trying to get them to do! I'd prefer to just bring up the situation myself–there are some higher-ups in the department who I know I can trust–but the students I've talked to are terrified that it will come back to them.
Cube RootofPi says:
Monday, March 14th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Thanks for this! Couple of questions:
Do the people pushed out of the programs include Asian-Americans? Non-white and non-Asian students (American or not)?
Where do these women end up after they're pushed out of the department?
Can I go and shank some of the department heads?
The people I'm referring to are all Korean nationals, although some end up emigrating here for good. None of my current private students are American by birth, and none of the Asian students I have now are U.S. citizens. After the foreign nationals leave the program–whether because of graduating or being pushed out–they may apply for visas to stay here, but most of my students have returned to their countries. The ones pushed out, unfortunately, return without degrees to show for their time, money, and effort, and will have considerable difficulty finding institutional teaching positions. In essence, they're fucked.
As for shanking… GET IN LINE. Seriously, I have a bounty out on one guy's head. He's not even a performer–what is he doing as head of a performance division?? He doesn't have the degree his students are candidates for! I detest him, sososo much.
My reaction: LSDFKJLEOISJALD!!!!!
What the Hello Kitty?! I know it's been tough for East Asian men (don't hear much of Southern, Southeast Asian or Pacific Islander) to make inroads, but there are musicians who are lauded. My mother follows the career of Chinese opera singers here.
But it didn't occurr to me to wonder where are the women? I'm not in touch as you are professionally or through your extracurricular activities. It's so maddening.
It would take a revolution within these women to gather up their individual courage, group together, and fight against what they've been taught (programmed?). I hope it happens.
White standard in action, ick.
It's funny, 'cause it's very much a matter of which division of the music programs people are in. I just had a Korean theorist over, and she doesn't get any of this crap; my historians are told right away to use editors, but nobody ever questions their intelligence. But the performers… they just get the double whammy, treated as dumb both by virtue of being performers rather than strict academics, and because of their ESL status. Utterly frustrating.
A group revolution would be great, but it won't happen. The only reason it managed to be brought up last month (quietly) is because the person in question failed another exam she was well-prepared for and figured she had nothing left to lose.
Ailanthus-altissima says:
This is a great piece, 14K. You always bring a new, valuable perspective.
Your piece is so timely because just today I was reading an academic article about how ESL students, especially SE Asian students, faced steep discrimination within academia – any lack in English proficiency is seen as a sign of low intelligence by some professors. These professors then complain about the "ESL Problem."
I mean, I'd known about this reprehensible treatment of ESL students since I started college and could see it happening to ESL students for, but the article included anonymous quotes from professors and it was those quotes that really, really hit home to me. I cannot imagine in what world speaking about your students in that way is even remotely appropriate. Referring to them as a "problem"? I can't even. The ESL "problem" as it stands for educators is only a problem in learning how to adapt out-dated rubrics for a global classroom. It's about learning how to grade on content while addressing the needs of your students. It's about seeing your students as individuals (to the extent possible, I know about the demands on professors and the huge class sizes some face).
I don't know where I am going with this exactly. Right on, 14K. You've given me a new wrinkle to think about.
English is the worst language to learn, and thank goodness I learned it as a preschooler. It's ridiculous to shame foreigners for not mastering this language which is chock full of irregularities, where exceptions to the rule are rampant and random.
As for sounding like native Amurikans or Brits, there is a problem among Asians. In their native lands they study English early, much earlier than American students begin foreign language. However the style of teaching is primarily focused on reading and writing. Speaking is a whole other universe. And the problem is the lack of native speakers in the countries to meet the needs. Don't like how foreigners sound? Then take the time out to help them, kindly, not in a rude pedantic way. And spend time abroad, or send your college aged kids to teach. Better yet, volunteer with these classes.
English is such a bastard language to learn… also, prepositions in another language will never be correct unless you've known it from birth!
Oh, totally. Honestly? There's an aspect of laziness to it, in the unwillingness to adapt to the current reality of the global classroom. When I was teaching a college course, I told everyone on the first day that, if they had problems with writing in general and/or English writing in particular, they should make use of the excellent tutors the school provided for that purpose. Easily 3/4 of that class was at least bilingual, and probably about 1/3 were ESL. I had no issues with papers from them, because everyone who needed it was getting the editing/tutoring help.
At the university level, when you're dealing with older, entrenched professors, they don't always feel the need to change their ways for the benefit of the students, and that's what I've run into with my private students. The schools in question aren't providing the services their students need… an old boyfriend from college had to wait a year to start school because the school decided he needed more English proficiency–there weren't ESL resources at the school, but they didn't enroll him and take his tuition and THEN deny him the help he needed! If there aren't systems in place for your foreign students, you shouldn't accept them in the first place unless you're willing to work around the language issue… and this should be a given in a NYC school.
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Kingussie history comes alive
The history of Kingussie comes under the spotlight in September with a series of events exploring the burgh's architectural heritage. Experts from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) will be helping local people discover the history all around them.
This is part of a wider project organised by RCAHMS and the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) to encourage the communities around Aviemore and Kingussie to learn more about their heritage.
On Monday 10th September, Simon Green, architectural historian with RCAHMS, will give a public lecture celebrating the architecture of the town. This takes place at 7.30pm in Talla Nan Ros, King Street, Kingussie.
The next day, Simon and his team will lead a two-day course in recording historic buildings. This will include instruction on recognising and understanding the history of buildings, as well as how to survey and photograph them. Reflecting on the burgh's heritage, Simon Green said: "Kingussie is a fascinating planned town that has changed and moved with the times but has retained its unique historic character."
Another team from RCAHMS, led by Dr Jill de Fresnes, will be conducting oral history interviews with some of the burgh's senior residents, recording their memories of Kingussie's important buildings. These recordings, made by trainees on the RCAHMS Skills for the Future programme, will then be linked with surveys from Simon Green's course and made publicly available online.
Dr Jill de Fresnes said: "We are really looking forward to working with the community in Kingussie on this short oral history project. We hope that this will be of benefit to the community as a whole as well as a great opportunity for our Skills for the Future trainees who are coming up to conduct the interviews. It will also tie in well with the historic building recording being undertaken later in September."
Fiona McLean, Community Heritage Officer with CNPA commented: "This is a unique opportunity for the local community to find out about the creation and development of Kingussie, and to learn how to record buildings in their own town. CNPA are delighted to be working in partnership with RCAHMS, who have been giving professional support in cultural heritage research to our communities."
The historic buildings recording course takes place in Kingussie on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th September. Places are limited but if you would like to take part please email [email protected]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


On July 17, the US Senate released a report on the old British colonial drug bank Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corp's (now called HSBC) ties to drug money laundering and funding of terrorists through Saudi and Bangladeshi banks. That is, however, just one part of HSBC's role. The other part was to flow billions in drug money, laundered through offshore operations, into the bankrupt City of London and Wall Street banks, providing them with cash used to control influential leaders around the world.
During the British Empire's heyday, Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank was in full control of the opium trade to fund the Empire. During the late 18thCentury, more than 50% of the Empire's income came from India's opium fields, whose output was then sold to Chinese retail opium markets. This has been documented in depth by EIR's Dope Inc., published in 1978.
Since then, Britain's drug-money-laundering policy has not changed, but has morphed a bit, although the Empire as a physical entity ceased to exist. Now, with Wall Street and the City of London joined at the hip, almost a trillion dollars generated annually through drug operations has become a major source of liquidity for these two mega-financial districts.
The report of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation shows how Afghan opium / heroin money, which was about $800 billion in street value in 2007, played a role in triggering terrorist activities in South Asia - the massive attack on Mumbai in November 2008, in particular - and how that arrangement was set up.
Beginning 1995, it was the synthetic Taliban militia, created by the Saudis and the Pakistani ISI /military, who jacked up the drug production to finance their militia operation. After 2001, when the Taliban was ousted by the US-NATO forces, opium/heroin production took off, particularly since 2005. That was an important year in the drug money/ terrorist-funding operation that led to the attack on Mumbai, India.
Opium production in Afghanistan between 1979 and 2005, however, did not grow steadily, but rather as demanded for drug-money and terrorist operations. According to UNODC records, in 1994, the production was 3,416 tons. It fell to 2,000-plus tons until 1998. In 1999, the Taliban, having set up its money-laundering operations in Dubai with the help of the Indian drug trafficker /gun-runner /terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, jacked up production to 4,565 tons. Then, production fell abruptly to a mere 185 tons in 2001, when the US invaded Afghanistan. Production rose to 4,200 tons in 2005, and then it exploded reaching 8,200 tons in 2007; 7,700 tons in 2008; and 6,900 tons in 2009.
The drug money thus generated to fund the financial centers and terrorists was also responsible for ongoing terrorist attacks that have destabilized most of South Asia. The most important of these was the massive attack on Mumbai, which killed 166 people at the railroad station, two major hotels, and a Jewish Community Center. It was a well-organized and long-planned attack. While the Pakistani ISI was the keeper of these terrorists, they had links to the United States, UK, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh, not to speak of Dawood Ibrahim's network inside India.
The July 17 US Senate Report mentioned HSBC's links to two terrorist banks in Bangladesh, Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL) and Social Islami Bank Ltd. The report, prepared by a team led by Sen. Carl Levin, said that Al Rajhi Bank was associated with Islami Bank Bangladesh, which provided an account to a Bangladeshi who had been accused of involvement in a terrorist bombing. In the case of Islami Bank, the factors included substantial ownership of the bank by Al Rajhi, the central bank's fines for failing to report suspicious transactions by militants, and an account provided to a terrorist organization.
Al Rajhi Bank provided a correspondent account to Social Islami Bank, whose largest single shareholder for many years had been the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), a "charity" based in Saudi Arabia. A second shareholder was the precursor to the Benevolence Islamic Foundation, also later designated by the US as a terrorist organization, said the report. In the case of Social Islami Bank, the factors included ownership stakes held by two terrorist organizations whose shares were exposed but never sold as promised, and a bank chairman found to be involved with criminal wrongdoing.
Since the focus of India's investigation was directed toward Pakistan, the Bangladesh connection to the attack was never fully exposed. Some early reports indicated that some SIM cards in the cellphones used by the Mumbai attackers belonging to the Pakistan-headquartered Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group, were purchased a month earlier from three different locations in Kolkata, and sent to Pakistan via Bangladesh.
A July 22, 2011 Asia Times article, "Bangladesh link to Mumbai blasts tests ties," by Syed Tashfin Chowdhury, said that Abdullah Khan, of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), was possibly involved in the logistics setup for the Mumbai attack. The article said: "Abdullah Khan is now 'operating the IM module which is assigned to maintain liaison with the Bangladesh-based Harkat Ul Jihad Al Islami (HuJI) and, in a joint venture, has recruited a few new cadres for their outfit.'" Investigators said that even six months ago, Khan was stationed in Nepal, and used to shuttle between Bangladesh and Pakistan, the article said. Abdullah Khan's terrorist activities were reported again in 2011. According to Indian media reports, Khan was the suspected mastermind of the serial bomb blasts that killed at least 19 people and injured over 130 more in Bangladesh in July 2011.
But it seems either the trail ended there, or investigators did not follow the leads. Bangladesh has serious terrorism problems. It has two major political parties, the Awami League (AL), now in power, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). BNP, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has its political base entrenched in two groups of Bangladeshis. These are the anti-India population and the pro-jihadi faction. To build a political movement on the basis of this ideology immediately attracts the usual providers, such as Britain, which still would like to see India break into pieces, or stay in a state of instability which would stymie its growth potential; and the Wahhabi-promoting Saudis.
There are more than 100 Islamic groups in Bangladesh. Most of them are funded from Saudi Arabia and some of them, such as Muslim Aid (UK) and Hizb ut-Tahrir, which were involved in assassination attempts on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, are directed by the MI6-controlled "Londonistan" Islamic forces.
The Islami Bank Bangladesh, linked to militancy and controlled by the Jamaat, has been accused of funneling money to al-Qaeda-linked militants and supporting radical Islamism in other countries. Yassin Qadi, a US- and UN-designated financier of terrorism, is also close to the bank. Qadi is a Saudi businessman and son-in-law of Sheikh Ahmed Salah Jamjoom, a foreign sponsor of IBBL. Jamjoom is a former commerce minister in the Saudi government. The Kuwaiti-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) also had accounts at the bank that are suspected of financing terrorism in Bangladesh and elsewhere. It is believed that the organization helped finance the Aug. 17, 2005 serial bombings in Bangladesh.
A major go-between in this operation is Tarique Rahman, Khaleda Zia's son, and perhaps the most powerful individual within the BNP. Rahman, senior vice-chairman of BNP, is now under threat of arrest on a number of criminal charges. He has fled to - yes, you guessed it - London. He was allowed to leave Dhaka as he sought treatment at Wellington Hospital in London.
At the airport he signed a statement forcing him to retire from BNP politics in Bangladesh. At present, reports indicate, Tarique is living in a rented accommodation in Edmonton, London, with his wife and daughter, and receiving treatment for his broken spinal cord.
According to available reports, Tarique and his crony Giasuddin al-Mamun, managing director of Channel 1 television, who has been recently charged with money-laundering at the Dhaka Court, were under inspection by the intelligence agencies, and their findings started making headlines: bank accounts in Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, Malaysia; investments in UAE. Among others, Tarique was dealing with Dawood Ibrahim.
In March 2012, the fugitive Rahman, now under protection of MI6, was charged, along with 29 others, in the 2004 Chittagong Port arms-smuggling case. He allegedly masterminded the botched supply of 10 truckloads of Chinese arms to Paresh Baruah, the boss of the northeast Indian separatist movement ULFA, with help from the Pakistani ISI. The cache of arms included 27,020 Chinese-made grenades, 840 rocket launchers, 300 accessories of rocket launchers, 2,000 grenade-launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 1,140,520 bullets, which, according to a Bangladeshi intelligence official, could have supplied 20 Mumbai-type attacks if they had been delivered.


Green is the buzz word of the millennium. Everyone wants to be a part of the Green Movement, but most do not know how to do it. So I am going to take the principles of green construction and apply it to the remodeling of a kitchen. There is no such thing as getting a green certification for your kitchen unless it is part of a total house remodeling, but that shouldn't deter you from applying some of the common sense principles.
Recycle: Create a built-in collection space. This collection space encourages sustainable living for the occupants. Recycling becomes convenient and a daily part of your life. Collection spaces should be designed with odor and air quality in mind. Your positive decision should not create a negative situation elsewhere.
Use of Reused or Salvaged Materials: Your old cabinets could be used in other locations in the home, or possibly donated to such organizations as Habitat for Humanity. Consider updating the kitchen cabinet door panels and not replacing the existing cabinet structure. Salvage old hardware.
Recycled-Content Building Materials; Countertops and hardware are good examples of selecting materials made from recycled content.
Recycled Construction Waste: The goal here is that construction waste is recycled and hazardous materials are handled and disposed of properly. This is different from Recycled-content. It is mainly concerned with the recycling of new construction materials, such as drywall, plastic, cardboard, wood, etc. The recycling of these materials takes place off site.
Renewable Materials: Renewable materials are considered biobased. Biobased materials are made of renewable agricultural materials (plants, animal, and marine materials) and forestry materials. Try to maximize the use of renewable materials in your kitchen remodeling.
Indigenous Materials: The object here is to think about what products are produced locally. Materials produced locally and are renewable and regional would be good sustainable choices for your remodeled kitchen.
Energy Efficiency: When you think of Energy efficiency, you think of appliances. To think of appliances is to think of energy. Appliances use a lot of energy, making the kitchen one of the most energy consuming rooms in the house. The important point is when thinking about a sustainable kitchen, think of energy-efficient appliances.
Lighting is also a critical component in your decision making. Use appliances and lighting fixtures with Energy Star ratings. Consider installing sensors on the kitchen lighting so that the lights only are on while in the kitchen. Another item to consider is induction cook tops.
Water is a resource that is becoming more and more depleted. Water preservation is important to the future of society, and this needs to be impacted through using water efficiently in our homes. Kitchens use water in cooking and cleaning process. Kitchens impact this by the use of hot water, dishwashers, food waste disposers, faucets, laundry washers, and even ice makers.
In order to reduce indoor water usage, certain steps can be taken: the design and location of a kitchen relative to hot water can help reduce water usage and energy consumption.
Food waste disposers reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.
Certain building products, such as cabinets, can emit toxins into the air. Choose products that eliminate or reduce the presence of these toxins in building products and furnishings.
Flooring in kitchens generally is limited to hard surface products. You do not see too many carpeted kitchens. The hard surface must be durable and cleanable. Some hard surface flooring is made with glues that also emit toxins into the air. Select materials that emit low or no levels of toxins.
Architectural coatings such as paints, stains, and varnishes potentially can have VOC's (volatile organic compounds). Pick the coatings that have zero VOCs.
Remove pollutants produced by daily kitchen activities. A kitchen exhaust plays a role in sustainable kitchen design by eliminating odors, moisture, grease, and pollutants created by cooking and frying. The exhaust should be vented to the outside.
These suggestions will start you on your way to being greener in your decision making. This naturally should extend your thinking to other rooms in your house as well as your position on doing your part to help save the planet. If each of us implements just one or two of the ideas mentioned above, we'll be better off and start our way to a better future. As always, the Stan Better Family of Companies are here and ready to help you should you need our assistance.


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STEM Shooting
Parker Food Network stars dish on food truck show
Stars of 'Great Food Truck Race' to open locally in January
Nick Puckett
npuckett@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Brad Brutlag and Mike O'Neill have big plans for their Big Stuff food truck. The Food Network stars of the competition reality show "The Great Food Truck Race" hope to open an "empire" of Big …
Brad Brutlag (left) and Mike O'Neill appeared on the Food Network reality show Great Food Truck Race, which airs through Dec. 19. They plan to open their "Big Stuff" food truck in the Parker area in January.
Posted Tuesday, December 10, 2019 11:27 am
Brad Brutlag and Mike O'Neill have big plans for their Big Stuff food truck.
The Food Network stars of the competition reality show "The Great Food Truck Race" hope to open an "empire" of Big Stuff food trucks, beginning with their first, original Big Stuff to open in the Parker area in January.
Brutlag and O'Neill, both from Parker, appear on the Season 11 show of the Christmas-themed, New England-based version of the series. The show is currently airing. In the show, competitors try to turn the highest profit at the end of each competition for a grand prize of $50,000 at the series' end. The final episode is scheduled to air Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. MST on Food Network. Brutlag and O'Neill could not disclose anything regarding the show.
"It was a little nerve-wracking a times," Brutlag said. "We had the three of us working in the food truck plus we had a cameraman right by your face…it was very nerve-wracking."
Brutlag met O'Neill in 1994, where they both worked at the electronics store Incredible Universe. O'Neill just moved to Colorado from Frankfurt, Germany. They became best friends and went to University of Northern Colorado together. Brutlag dropped out and eventually earned a bachelor's degree from Johnson & Wales in food service management. O'Neill works in advertising and lives in Parker. They would reconnect during the holidays and stayed close.
Brutlag began working as a freelance chef for three private yachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After traveling the seas, living out of a backpack and sleeping in bunkbeds for the better part of a decade, Brutlag wanted to try something new. He moved back to Colorado and applied for "The Great Food Truck Race."
Brutlag called O'Neill with the news he got accepted to be on "The Great Food Truck Race" and that he needed two partners. The third partner, Eddy Cummings, Brutlag met while searching for his replacement as a private chef in Florida.
The two professional chefs did most of the cooking and creating. O'Neill helped in the kitchen here and there but had a more multi-dimensional role as the truck's front man, interacting with customers on the ground.
Brutlag said now that the show is almost done airing, the two can get to work on their truck.
"I like to travel, I like to move. That's the biggest draw for a food truck is that I never have to see the same place every day at work," Brutlag said. "This helps me grow some roots in my hometown, where I grew up."
Cummings won't be joining Brutlag and O'Neill in the opening of the real Big Stuff food truck.
Brutlag describes his food as "global comfort food." Everything at Big Stuff is thematically "stuffed" in some form. The original truck uses Colorado-style recipes. Stuffed green chile burgers. Meatball-stuffed sandwiches. Stuffed doughnut holes. More ideas come to Brutlag sometimes in a dream, he said. His next creation is a "Colorado banh mi."
Brutlag wants to have an army of Big Stuff food trucks, each with a different theme. He envisions a Mexican Big Stuff, Asian Big Stuff and more from a variety of palates and cuisines. At the end of the tunnel is a "colosseum" or convention center-type facility — his brick-and-mortar dream — that is a "food truck hub" for any and all food trucks to park and sell.
His new Big Stuff food truck will have a different wrap on it from the show. Right now, it sits in Brutlag's garage, "naked," as the team awaits the proper permits and licensing from the state and health departments.
"We learned on the job quickly. We all kind of complemented each other really well," O'Neill said.
parker colorado,	food network,	brad brutlag,	mike o'neill,	great food truck race,	big stuff,	nick puckett
Abstract artist to share techniques, approaches
First is probably special, but the heck with that
The speed of the game is in our hands
Douglas County High School had brief lockout
Douglas County High School was placed on lockout as Castle Rock police searched a vehicle in the student parking lot on Jan. 14. The lockout lasted approximately 10 minutes, according to a letter to …
Two teens found dead in suspected murder-suicide
A suspected mental health-related incident has left two teenagers dead in Douglas County, Sheriff Tony Spurlock said during a Jan. 15 news conference. The incident, which is being investigated as a murder-suicide, began at Mile High Academy in Highlands Ranch on Jan. 14. The victim, a 17-year-old girl, got in a car with Samuel Hoffman, 18, after school.
Q&A with state Sen. Jim Smallwood
Colorado Community Media asked the following questions of state Sen. Jim Smallwood, R-Parker, ahead of the 2020 legislative session, which began Jan. 8. Smallwood represents Senate District 4, which …
Castle Rock OKs rules for housing buffers
Castle Rock has changed its requirements for buffer zones between dissimilar residential developments — such as a neighborhood of single-family homes proposed near an apartment complex. The town is …
Pair of Highlands Ranch artists adorn school with giant mural
A massive, colorful collage of Red Rocks, the Rocky Mountains, Denver and a giant elk now adorn the stairwell of Highlands Ranch High School thanks to two seniors who completed the mural during their …
Charlie Daniels Band to headline Douglas County Fair
An iconic member of the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame will return to the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo this summer. Charlie Daniels is known for using his music to support the U.S. …
My Name Is … Nick Lucey
About me I'm the president of the newly formed Castle Rock Artist Cooperative. I am a local fine art photographer and graphic designer based in Castle Rock, where I've been for the last five and a …
B*GOOD VENTURES LLC
SILVER LEAF MORTGAGE INC
INTERMOUNTAIN RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOC.
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Grappling to improve pays off
Moises Islas, a junior heavyweight at Heritage, admits he is a better wrestler this season. Islas was 23-12 as a sophomore but lost in last winter's regional tournament in the wrestle backs and …
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Her hard work pays off
Hannah Banko has worked hard to polish her basketball skills, and the labor has offered dividends. Banko, a 5-foot-11 senior at SkyView Academy in Highlands Ranch, has committed to play basketball at …
All-South Metro Football Team: Game-changers lead the way
Regis Jesuit quarterback Nicco Marchiol and Cherry Creek defensive back/kick returner Myles Purchase headline the 2019 Colorado Community Media All-South Metro Football Team. The 26-player team was …
Ponderosa player brings speed, positioning to team
Ponderosa senior striker Chris Cornn finished a pretty good soccer season. Cornn was named the 2019 Colorado Community Media South Metro Boys Soccer Player of the Year. "He is definitely the …
Athlete is the all-around deal
Julianna Dalton's performance in the girls state volleyball finals at the Denver Coliseum cemented the selection of the Chaparral standout as the 2019 Colorado Community Media Volleyball Player of …
The Douglas County News Press is one of 20 community newspapers published by Colorado Community Media. Click here to learn more about us: www.ccmengage.com.


Australians will be offered a single digital identity to access services across federal, state, and local branches of government.
The Australian government has established a Digital Transformation Office (DTO), and tasked it with creating an identity to replace the tangle of usernames, passwords, and processes that Australians use to log in to dozens of government agencies and departments online.
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull will oversee the change, with the DTO to reside in his department. The DTO will recruit developers, designers, researchers, and content specialists working across government to improve digital services.
"The DTO will also work closely with state and territory governments to identify opportunities for collaboration, including ways to make better use of myGov," Turnbull said in a statement.
In an FAQ published with the announcement, Turnbull said that the DTO was established to provide a whole-of-government approach to service delivery to get agencies out of their current silos.
The services will be reusable and interconnected across the agencies, he said.
"This will enable the government to deliver high-quality services more consistently using a common 'look and feel', with users always at the centre of the digital transformation," he said.
Turnbull said it would operate more like a tech startup than a traditional government agency.
"Interacting with government should be as easy as internet banking or ordering a taxi through an app," he said.
The role of leading digital transformation used to sit in the Department of Finance and the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), but now it will sit within the Department of Communications. Turnbull said that AGIMO and Finance would still be responsible for IT procurement.
Turnbull said that DTO will work closely with AGIMO on procurement.
"This is particularly important as government agencies take greater advantage of cloud computing and transition from an own and operate model to one based on consumption," he said.
The DTO will develop an australia.gov website similar to the UK's gov.uk, Turnbull said.
The minister said security and privacy of personal information would be protected.


Data protection compliance is nothing new. Most UK businesses will be familiar with the Data Protection Act (DPA). It has been around since 1998 which makes the current law over 20 years old! At that time, Google was three people in a garage. Offices were still using word processors. Telephone numbers were kept in a Rolodex, or for the sophisticated, a Filofax. Most people had never heard of the internet. A lot has changed in 20 years and the law is trying to catch up.
That said, even before the DPA was implemented, The European Commission was aware of the need for a law to protect the privacy of individuals. This resulted in the adoption of the Data Protection Directive in 1995. This Directive seeks to protect individuals' personal information. At the same time, it recognises that the free flow of personal information within the European Union has economic benefits which need preserving. This is a tricky balance.
Changes in data protection law are seeking to maintain that balance but also bring things up to date. On 25 May 2018, the DPA will be replaced by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Whilst the overriding purpose of the GDPR is much the same as the DPA, there are crucial differences which businesses should be aware of. These differences have sprung largely out of inadequacies identified over the last 20 years in the DPA which the GDPR has sought to address.
Whilst the law is never nimble enough to keep up with all advances in technology, the GDPR is a significant improvement upon the DPA. The new law will apply to more companies in more places and protect more data. The consequences of non-compliance can no longer be ignored by organisations. Organisations must show that they comply rather than merely say that they comply. If organisations get things wrong and personal data is lost or compromised, the likelihood under the GDPR is that they will have to report the breach. And, finally, all companies will have to look carefully at how they obtain consent for processing and recognise that such consent can be withdrawn at any time. We've gathered together the specific changes that may affect your organisation.
First, it has been made clear that the GDPR applies not only to EU organisations but also non-EU organisations in certain circumstances. For example, if a US company is selling software to an EU individual, or monitoring such an individual for the purpose of targeting advertising to that individual, the GDPR applies to that US company.
Second, the DPA applies only to companies that control the processing of personal data (Controllers). The GDPR extends the law to those companies that process personal data on behalf of Controllers (Processors). For example, if you buy a new television on the internet and give your contact details to the web-based store to enable delivery of that television, only the store would be liable for looking after your personal information under the DPA. Under the GDPR, the store and the delivery company could both be liable.
These two changes close two loopholes which undermined the protection of individuals within the EU.
The GDPR allows the regulator to fine non-compliant companies up to 4% of global turnover. Under the DPA, the largest fine allowed is £500,000 and the highest fine ever handed out has been £400,000.
For large (possibly multinational) companies with a high turnover, it was felt that a maximum fine of £500,000 was not significant enough to deter bad practice. It should be said, however, that such huge fines are only likely to be levied for very serious breaches where organisations willfully ignore the law resulting in a significant effect on the rights and freedoms of individuals. For example, in the case of a large scale loss of sensitive data.
The regulator is emphasising the need for accountability within organisations and diligent record keeping. Organisations are required to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR. They need to be able to show the regulator that they take data protection compliance seriously and that they have recorded the steps showing such seriousness.
This is a break from the last 20 years of the DPA where the perception has been that many organisations have, if anything, only paid lip service to compliance.
Under the DPA the regulator recommends that organisations notify it if they experience a data breach. However, under the GDPR there is a requirement to notify the regulator and individuals' affected under certain circumstances.
This change in the law means that organisations can no longer seek to keep quiet about data breaches. Under the GDPR organisations may still choose to keep quiet and not notify, but if the data breach becomes public and the regulator finds that the organisation did not comply with the law, any fine is likely to be a lot higher.
Organisations need a legal basis to process personal information. One of those legal bases is "consent". This is the case under the DPA and the GDPR. However, under the GDPR, that consent will have to be more specific and more granular. For example, instead of getting consent for marketing by 'opt out' or, so called 'soft opt in', organisations will have to obtain separate, specific 'opt in' consent for marketing by email, by telephone and by in product messaging. Also, under the GDPR, organisations will have to inform individuals that they can withdraw such consent at any time.
These changes were deemed necessary because it was felt that individuals did not have sufficient control under the DPA over what their personal information was used for.
The change was necessary because the DPA was borne out of a predominantly offline world of filing cabinets and telephone sales. Whilst such things still exist, the GDPR needs to protect individuals in an online world of targeted online advertising and in app messaging.
The GDPR is an evolution, not a revolution. There are important changes in the GDPR, but an organisation that took its responsibilities seriously under the DPA, should find it easy to comply with the GDPR. However, for an organisation that largely ignored the DPA, there will be a lot of work to do before it is compliant with the GDPR.
For more information on data protection compliance, explore the rest of our hub here. If you'd like more information on how The Privacy Compliance Hub can bring your organisation up to speed quickly and securely, don't hesitate to get in touch!


Ok, I swear I am not Uniqlo obsessed, but they pretty much run the retail scene out here in Japan and they are taking the bull by the horns lately in collaborations. All that and I am currently covering some fashion news for SAVVY TOKYO and hear about all the innovative and ingenious new rabbits this mega-brand keeps pulling out of their hat.
Recently, I wrote about the new app called UTme for Savvy Tokyo. Check out the article below to hear how you can create your one t-shirt via your smartphone and make sure to like Savvy Tokyo on Facebook and follow on Instagram to get up-to-date news on everything fashion in Tokyo and Japan.
Japan's own major retailer, Uniqlo, just launched its newest venture, called UTme. The service allows customers to design their own t-shirt on a whim by uploading photos, typing in slogans or even create their own "finger painting,� all with nothing more than a smartphone application. Let your creative juices flow. The app includes special effect components such as splashed paint, "glitches� in the image, and a dotted mosaic effect, which are applied with just a shake of the phone for additional personalization. Once you've channeled all your inspiration onto your masterpiece, the t-shirt order is placed through the app and delivered to your home. Currently the service is limited to those within Japan only.
If you're too anxious to wait for delivery, Uniqlo has temporarily set up a workshop on the fifth floor of its flagship store in Ginza. Customers are able to design their shirts using an iPad in the store and then watch the production process in action.
T-shirts are reasonably priced at ¥1,990 plus tax and delivery (shipping is ¥450, but free if you order three or more t-shirts at once).


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BFP to get 266 new fire trucks from DILG
By: Cathrine Gonzales - Reporter / @cgonzalesINQ
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) will have 266 new fire trucks from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which are set to be distributed this year and next year to key cities and municipalities nationwide.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Wednesday that the new fire trucks would beef up the fire prevention efforts of the BFP, especially during March with the onset of the summer season.
"Fire incidents usually peak during summer and we want our firefighters to be ready to be of assistance to the public during conflagrations and other emergencies," Año said in a statement.
"We are hopeful that with the acquisition of new fire trucks, the BFP will be more than equipped to rush to the location of the blaze to put out the fire and rescue possible victims," he said.
Sedition case filed vs Robredo, 35 others over 'Bikoy' videos
Of the total firetrucks, 56 of them — worth around P700 million — were procured last year.
Trucks, each with a 1,000-gallon capacity, will be delivered any time soon to stations without trucks and to refleet 20-year-old units.
According to Año, the acquisition of the 56 firetrucks — along with 1,260 sets of self-contained breathing apparatus and three rescue trucks — had already passed the early procurement stage. A notice of award will soon be given to the winning bidder, Año said.
DILG: No need to file charges vs Erap for not turning over docs to Isko Moreno
DILG says cities and towns in the country are short of fire trucks
BARMM gov't laments 'seeming lack of support' from LGUs
Meanwhile, the procurement of 126 other firetrucks is now in the hands of the Philippine International Trading Corp., which is conducting post-qualification process for the lowest calculated bidder.
"We expect that the award of this project will be made this year," Año said.
Twenty-eight other firetrucks for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which is being handled by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, is still ongoing, the DILG said.
"Ensuring public safety is one of the primary tasks of the government. This is why it fully supports the BFP's modernization program by setting aside funds for the purchase of new fire trucks and equipment every year," said Año. /atm
Plane from Taiwan stalls at end of Kalibo airport runway
Boxing legend Ray Mancini all praises for Manny Pacquiao: 'He's an all-time great'
Let's build math, science schools in every province – Gatchalian
Cayetano: Paolo Duterte set to be House Deputy Speaker
Gatchalian eyes mandatory education programs for elementary, HS teachers
TAGS: BFP, Bureau of Fire Protection, DILG, firetrucks
Cayetano, Pulong summon solons before House Speaker poll


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Television Tuesday--Glee and Saturday Night Live
Cold Open
Tonight is the season finale of Glee, this past Saturday was the season finale of Saturday Night Live. The two episodes that ran last week for Glee and the Mick Jagger-hosted one for SNL both carried with them an air of finality for a variety of reasons even if each series will be continuing, if only for the reason that next year they won't quite be the same. Let's discuss.
Glee Episodes "Props" and "Nationals"
First off, I spoil everything that happens in these two episodes, know that. I started watching Glee early in its third season. My girlfriend would want to watch it and instead of leaving her to view it alone I was nice and viewed it with her. Despite my initial complete lack of interest in a show about the trials and tribulations of high school and involved in singing I kind of enjoyed the program. The only thing I was initially interested in was Jane Lynch's awesome character of Sue Sylvester as I've been a fan of Lynch since she popped up on, "The L Word," and other programs. I was surprised that I didn't hate all the other stuff as I usually have so little interest in stories about high school or teenagers singing today's or yesterday's hits. The plots sometimes are kind of strong however, and I actually would probably like the show even more if it didn't have the singing, as I just really don't need to hear Lady Gaga's music, be it coming from Lady Gaga's mouth or the Glee kids.
A Great Actress
Interestingly enough, the episode, "Props," pretty much illustrated everything that can be right with Glee, and everything that can be downright cheesy and terrible. The story with the character of Puck and his dealing with the stress of thinking he's a failure, lashing out, having his story cross-over with the gym teacher (Beiste) who has been in an abusive relationship and realizes she has to leave it--that's the good stuff. Yes, it's pure soap opera, but its well done soap opera. Tell me you couldn't feel a huge surge of tension when Beiste is standing there in the kitchen in that flashback holding a kitchen knife as her husband yells at her, and until she lets go and it falls in the sink you genuinely wonder, "Is she gonna cut a fool?" Seeing characters who are interesting go through tough times in their lives and come out on top despite being underdogs is just great, and I enjoy it. Unfortunately, we also have to put up with the awfulness of Tina and Rachel's tales.
Puck and Beiste are the best thing this episode
In an almost self-aware meta-textual twist the character of Tina who has done absolutely nothing since I started watching the show to a point where I didn't even know her name till this episode, throws a huge fit. Her fit is about the fact that no one pays attention to her and she is basically scenery. I could almost picture the actress behind Tina having this fit in the writers' room demanding she get more screen-time, as this character really has done nothing. The whole self-aware gag of her character freaking out is fine, but then she hits her head and imagines she is Rachel Berry (and everyone else switches bodies for some weird reason that is a slightly funny joke that gets milked for way too long). This results in her learning a valuable lesson that maybe she belongs in the background and the supposed awesomeness that is the horribly annoying character Rachel Berry pretty much gets, "Yes, you're awesome," told to her yet again. I hate the Rachel Berry character. She thinks she is entitled to everything. She is annoying, whiny, and just bugs me. The character of Kurt is just as talented and doesn't rub our faces in that fact constantly. So yes, this is the downside of the, "Props," episode. This is the stuff that shows Glee at its worst, trying to be cute with fantasy bits and highlighting characters I either don't care about or hate. At least things work out with Beiste.
Body-switching, how...fun?
The other episode that ran as this was a dual-episode was, "Nationals." It had a lot of singing so I zoned out a fair bit. Also Lindsay Lohan appeared as herself in a desperate attempt to revitalize her on-life-support career (did anyone else crack up when the announcer referred to her as, "America's Sweetheart?") along with Perez Hilton--who is looking a lot older than I remember him being. The Glee kids win, everyone is happy, Rachel Berry gets way too much screen time and Puck, Kurt, Quinn, or any other characters I find more interesting get much too little attention. It's still sweet to finally see the team win though.
Tonight the last episode of the season will run, and a lot of the characters are going to leave the show/"graduate". It's sad but better to have them leave now while they're popular than wear out their welcome and be in their 40's posing as 18 years-old. There will undoubtedly be an infusion of new characters, and the show won't be the same. Whether it can still succeed with its new additions and some remaining cast will be seen.
"Props"--3.5 out of 5 stars (The good stuff was so good it most overpowered the terrible).
"Nationals"--3 out of 5 stars (Kind of dull, but it was nice to see the team win).
Saturday Night Live Season 37, Episode 22/Season Finale
For the Season Finale of SNL things were quite definitely switched up a bit. Mick Jagger was both the host and sort-of the musical performer. I say he was sort-of the performer because this was a rare occasion where there were three musical bits, and they all had different people with the exception being a uniting factor of Jagger as a part of every piece. Arcade Fire went first, then Foo Fighters, and lastly Jagger did an interesting and highly political song called, "Tea Party," with Jeff Beck where some stations cut away because he said, "Shit," at one point. Of course, these stations also were in areas that were more conservative and probably didn't appreciate the content of the song, but I'm sure that had nothing to do with it, right? See it here, surprisingly uncut. Jagger also was genuinely funny in the bits he appeared in, such as secret word where for once someone was able to match Kristen Wiig's actress-character's sheer insanity. How did he do this? With his own actor character who portrays macho-men on the screen but is quite clearly barely-in-the-closet. The bit where he attends karaoke as a shy man and people pretend to be Jagger was funny also.
Jon Hamm appeared in the cold open where Kristen Wiig's creepy character who always appears on the Laurence Welk show spoof did her usual thing but this time seemed to actually finally find love with Hamm's character. The things he did to her hands...oh my. Speaking of cameos, Steve Martin oddly popped up toward the end of the show for a blink-and-you'll miss it joke too.
While I'm going to tell you of a saddening departure soon, it is known that Andy Samberg and Jason Sudekis have contracts that are up. As for if they will be on the show next season, that is unclear. What is clear would be how Andy Samberg and crew's digital shorts are still hilarious as this 101st one illustrates with its, "Lazy Sunday 2." At first I was afraid we were going to get a retread, but then the beat switches up, the rhymes get fresh, and I indeed laughed--"Still waiting on a ******* youtube check," indeed. Those last verses from Samberg and Parnell seem kind of final though,"On these New York streets I hone my fake rap penmanship," "That's how it began," "And that's how I'mma finish it." I hope he is around next year just because I love the shorts so much if nothing else. Observe:
Lastly, all this talk of Kristen Wiig getting so much screen time hints at it, and surely enough the biggest news probably was that this was the episode where it was made official she is leaving the cast of SNL, with her being given a send-off by Jagger and friends singing, "Ruby Tuesday," in what started out as a skit but turned into the goodnight-segement (so really four musical bits if you think about it). Everyone in the current cast danced with her and past cast members who hadn't even appeared in the episode showed up to say goodbye to her. It was truly touching and I'm sad she is leaving the show as she was arguably the strongest female presence on the show.
I will miss Wiig being on the show.
All-in-all this was a pretty strong episode (Stefon showed up in Weekend Update too!) even if some sketches were a bit dull (The Al Sharpton one dragged). It was a decent season with some strong episodes and some weak ones, but I'll most remember the talent that was lost at the end of the season or may be lost depending on who else leaves.
3.5 out of 5 stars (for the episode, it's too hard to give the season itself a solid rating. 3 out of 5 maybe).
There you go, those are my thoughts about Glee and SNL. I hope the season finale of the former is good tonight and equally hope SNL brings in some good talent next year to try and fill the gap left.
Posted by David Charles Bitterbaum at 5:28 PM No comments:
Labels: Andy Samberg, funny, Glee, internet, Jane Lynch, Kristen Wiig, L Word, Mick Jagger, music, rant-reviews, Saturday Night Live, television, television tuesday
Rant-Reviews--My Free Comic Book Day Comics
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) was a bit ago. I finally went through my lot of comics and can review them. It took so long because I had finals--with the tests and big papers, et al. Now it is summer, so besides hopefully having an internship I shall be a bit more free to complain about and insult comics/movies/books/games/etc. rampantly on the web. Theoretically at least. I've got a long list of things to read and review I'm working on. Let's get to this.
Mouse Guard: Labyrinth and Other Stories
Everyone has been going on about how beautiful this hardcover book looks compared to the other Free Comic Book Day floppies that were around, and while it is quite pretty I don't know if it is something to jizz your pants about--which it really seems folk are. After all, once you crack this thing open and read the contents you get a decent refresher in Mouse Guard lore, a weird tale about a lonely troll-man, an incomprehensible Dapper Men tale, something called, "Rust," that I admittedly enjoyed, a piece about Cursed Pirate Girl that tries a bit too hard to be weird to a point where it loses some of the fun, and a cute-but-throwaway story about a young cowboy who hunts down his nogoodnik relatives. In other words, like almost all anthologies it is a grab bag with little really grabbing me other than, "Rust," which has a strange surreal feeling and charm to it I could possibly find worth following into its main book. Still, the actual comic's design sure is nice.
Superman Family Adventures/Green Lantern: The Animated Series/Young Justice
I wanted to like this more, but the, "Superman Family Adventures," I found the best cut off really soon, the Green Lantern bit is quite subpar, and Young Justice is just a lame teaser. No thanks.
This is really just a reprint of Avengers #12.1 but now called #0.1 with Spider-Woman having her outfit colored-on so parents won't freak out about their kids reading this after getting it at FCBD. It's a really sort of pointless Avengers tale that sets up some mega-event with Ultron coming in some months that the Bendis Moon Knight comic also just turned out to be a 12-issue lead-in for. The art is decent enough, I suppose.
An Image Comic Sampler (Not It's Real Name, But I Don't Know What It Is)
A random assortment of stories that start up and get cut-off so you go buy the main book--other than a fun thing by Steve Niles and Scott Morse. Otherwise we don't get complete tales, but previews of books, some of which look entirely worth skipping ("Revival") and others that I've heard good things about ("Near Death"). It's still previews though, and if you want me to think your FCBD offering is quality don't give me a smidgen of a story and call it a day.
Bad Medicine #1
The complete first issue of a new series called Bad Medicine where the hook essentially is someone has invented invisibility. It's an entirely passable story even if it does some jumping around in time that is completely unnecessary to the plot. Plus, the issue seems to just sort of end, and not in the way a comic should, but like they just ran out of pages for the story. Methinks this maybe was written as a trade paperback and they decided to split it up into an individual comic--at least that's my theory as the way this just comes to a halt on the last page is weird.
Dinosaurs Versus Aliens
Grant Morrison should be a winner, but we get very little story, then some writings by the authors about how they wanted to do this and make a movie out of it, and then some concept art. I don't take kindly to being given comics that are little more than thinly-veiled movie pitches, even if they look somewhat pretty. The main story could turn out well, but this free comic is bleh.
Lady Death: The Beginning
I've reviewed Lady Death before, and she is fine as a cheesecake with some violence thrown in, which is exactly what this is. Something that is impressive however, is that in this era of highly decompressed storytelling how much stuff they cram in here. There is enough material for some authors to stretch out over 12 issues and this just goes at a breakneck pace with its higher-than-usual page-count to help the bunch of stuff that occurs breathe at least a tiny bit. This may be essentially swords-and-boobs, but it's swords-and-boobs done well. That's a good thing.
Valiant 2012
We get the start of, "X-O Manowar,", which is about some ancient man getting a space-age suit, I believe. I say, "I believe," because the story cuts off before that happens but I've heard about the version of this from years ago and how its being relaunched. There is also an incredibly short snippet of something called, "Harbringer," which is about a psychic kid or something? I have no clue, its so short that I'm lost. There are also random writing pages with script notes or something for another comic. This was a bit lame. Like finding out all those mystical people you believed in don't exist (Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy) level of lame.
Witchblade: Unbalanced Pieces
The first story is interesting, with the idea that the Univerese was reset and only one man--the wielder of The Darkness--knows about it. Sadly, that is a very short piece of this comic. The rest is a long Witchblade tale that ends up getting cut off (but not because its a short preview, I think its because the issue truly ends). The Witchblade story still isn't that good though. It has a weird bone-and-flesh suit enemy, evil bikers (could we be any more cliche?) and just sort of rambles along with its exposition as apparently this story is being told to us in the past tense by the main character...ugh. I'm intrigued about The Darkness and could skim that, but Witchblade is mediocre at best.
2.5 out of 5 stars (and I'm being generous because that first short tale caught my interest).
The Hypernaturals
Superheroes in the future, unnecessary jumping around in time that doesn't help the plot much, a clearly lacking hook besides the aforementioned superheroes in the future...I'll skip any future issues I think.
Atomic Robo
An awesome Atomic Robo story that is quite fun and hilarious, then a dull short from Neozoic and a sample of Bonnie Lass. The last two things don't really matter compared to the first story, which is a real keeper with its mad scientist dinosaur. Yes, a mad scientist who is also a dinosaur, you can thank me for pointing you towards this comic later.
The Intrinsic
This apparently takes various characters Arcana comics has the rights to and puts them together in a completely and utterly forgettable tale about heroes and demons, alternate dimensions, or something. Dull, dull, dull.
The Ride/Anti
One story is about a man taking a woman from a, "key party," out to the middle of nowhere and killing her violently, then driving off. The other story is about demons coming to earth or something and a woman who kills them violently. Putting aside how utterly wretched, "The Ride," part was even though its other comics have been okay, the Anti story was pretty horrible too. The fact we have one comic that is just a man brutally murdering a woman and then saying, "Well that happened," and it was given away on FCBD as if people would enjoy reading it is just utterly insulting and disturbing however.
.5 out of 5 stars (the .5 is for Anti having okay art).
So, DC Comics wants new readers for their re-launched comics and puts out this impenetrable thing of flashbacks and flash-forwards that looks okay, but barely makes sense at the moment? Okay, whoever said that was a great idea must have been so coked up out of their mind at time that going, "The New 52 is selling so well, I think we should do this ultra-big-encompassing story but forget to have it make a lick of sense," actually seemed like a good idea in their drug-raddled brain. Why are DC executives sniffing cocaine? Two reasons, they are celebrating this New 52 doing quite well, and their magic machine that sees the future showed them how well, "The Avengers," did and they realized they passed on Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman and only drugs can numb that pain. Yes, DC has a time machine, but they only use it for comic-business purposes so as to avoid creating a time-disturbance. You can read all about it in my true news story which also discusses how Dan Didio has sex with a pile of, "Before Watchmen," scripts and mails it to Alan Moore weekly because Didio is kind of sick like that. Really, I'm working on the scoop for this as we speak (no I'm not).
Bongo Comics Free-For-All/Spongebob Comics Freestyle Funnies
The Simpson's story is pure time-passing average, we also get a nice story from a certain famous artist of Mad Magazine (Sergio Aragones) but the Spongebob stuff is where the fun is really at, with a contribution from Kochalka adding some nice flavor.
Yo Gabba Gabba!
I've never watched the show but this comic is actually quite good. It's funny, clever, and cute. I am surprised at its story quality and nice art. Go figure.
Some of this is preview-material for other comics, but a good chunk happens to be complete stories, and they are pretty good ones. From a decent Judge Dredd that points out how he is a really authoritarian and kind of evil, to a fun old robot tale and a great super-hero pseudo-parody by Chris Weston this is quite enjoyable.
As can be seen the Free Comic Book Day comics run the gamut in quality widely. I wasn't able to read all of them but I got a pretty good number and some were real winners, such as Atomic Robo, 2000 AD, Bad Medicine and oddly enough the Lady Death comic. Also, that Mouse Guard hardcover does look beautiful even if the inside contents of the comic aren't utterly amazing. All-in-all it was a pretty good FCBD.
Posted by David Charles Bitterbaum at 11:55 PM No comments:
Labels: Alan Moore, Avengers, Before Watchmen, Brian Michael Bendis, Dan DiDio, DC, Free Comic Book Day, funny, Grant Morrison, Marvel, Scott Morse, Sergio Aragones, Steve Niles, Superman
Thoughts On The Walking Dead Video-Game Episode 1 and Electronic Gaming Monthly #254
Zombies and Gaming-Magazines.
This post is all about video-games. A fun one based on the popular franchise, "The Walking Dead," and a magazine that discusses them.
Like, "Heavy Rain," but With More Zombies--"The Walking Dead" Game Episode 1: A New Day
Confession time: I've not watched, "The Walking Dead," television show. That's not too embarrassing, but worse I've only read a very few of the comics. I know what you're saying, "And you dare call yourself a comic nerd and horror fan!" Hate all you want, but I just didn't really find myself that intrigued by the concept of zombies without a twist in this modern day. Romero did such an amazing job with his, "Night Of The Living Dead," and its sequels, along with the clever takes on zombies where they actually weren't zombies such as, "28 Days [or the even better Weeks] Later," films that I just felt I lacked a need for much more zombies.
However, I've known about Telltale games for sometime, and have been aware they put out some pretty good stuff. Their, "Sam and Max," games are known to be quite awesome and other than a misstep with their, "Jurassic Park," attempt which was apparently sub-par, they make quality stuff. Therefore, when I heard they had made a Walking Dead game that had action bits but also clever a use of a dialogue system with many people using a comparison to another game I loved, "Heavy Rain," well...my interest was piqued.
Your dialogue choices can have ramifications later in the game.
Upon playing the first episode I can say that this is one entertaining, suspenseful, and at times a bit scary game. Playing as Lee Everett, a man going to prison for a crime we are not yet aware of, everything goes to hell (with the zombies appearing and whatnot) and the police car he's in crashes. After encountering some zombies Lee meets up with a young girl named Clementine who it is clear has parents that are not coming home anytime soon. Lee takes her under his wing and we're off on an adventure.
One interesting thing about the game is how it claims your choices will impact future episodes or even moments within the same episode. My decision to lie to someone did get me a stern talking-to from them as they informed me they could see through my ruse easily, and the game at times will have you make life-or-death decisions that appear to have an effect on future episodes, with someone I chose to save popping up in the, "Next time on the Walking Dead," teaser for episode 2 after I beat the first. I did make it clear how these are split up into a form like television episodes, right? Well, its quite snazzy and gives everything a good feel. It may only take you 2 or 3 hours to play through the first episode, but for a cost not too much higher than some comics today it really is worth the money--and yes, you can do a, "season pass," where you buy all the episodes in advance which is handy.
I really enjoyed this, with its mixture of action, talking, and a smattering of puzzles thrown in to keep the ol' noggin working hard. Your character, Lee, is a fascinating man regardless of the words you have him choose, and Clementine is unique for a child side-kick in that she isn't annoying as hell and actually is fun, smart, and interesting. I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next monthly installment. Hey, just like a comic book!
I Remember When This Magazine Died In It's Prime. Then They Brought It Back As This.
Electronic Gaming Monthly was my favorite magazine for a long time. Then one day the company was bought-out and the magazine suddenly killed. People who worked in the office were just told that day to leave. My issue of EGM about the upcoming Wolverine video-game (which actually turned out to be pretty good) was suddenly the last one to ever hit newsstands.
Then a good time later I one day saw the magazine back on a news-rack, and it was a new issue. How was this possible, I wondered? It had been returned from nothingness, and this new opening issue had a blessing from the old magazine's famous Dan "Shoe" Hsu wishing it well. It was wonderful! Except it wasn't. It was an okay magazine, but it wasn't my EGM I remembered. Yes, they had previews, and reviews, and features like all magazines, and even a fun little section in the back with writer Seanbaby making fun of bad games as the old magazine did, but things were just so different. They seemed too positive about games in reviews--where was that old constructive criticism I loved? Their letters section was too nice compared to the old one which used to rip people apart who needed a good insult, it now was bimonthly/every two months...things were just so different.
So now we arrive at this new issue. They've tweaked things again, adding three reviewers to most reviews as in the days of old (well, in the even farther past reviews had more reviewers, but we won't get technical), moving sections around, and changing the design style. What do I think? Well, it's a fine magazine, and one I enjoy reading, but it still isn't truly EGM as I remember it. Perhaps the magic that magazine carried is just lost forever, with the closet thing to its big bulky issues of gaming-goodness being some of the UK mags that are loaded with info and reviews. Maybe its nostalgia tinting my views as EGM was something I grew up with for years and the old issues are something I still treasure as opposed to other magazines I don't hesitate to recycle. Whatever the case, this is a fine magazine and a nice read, but it just is not what I think of when I think of what EGM truly is...or was.
Labels: Electronic Gaming Monthly, Heavy Rain, magazine, rant-reviews, The Walking Dead, video-games
Film Fridays: Avengers
My Spoiler-Free, Honest Take On The Avengers? Pretty Great.
So, I saw the Avengers at a midnight premiere last night/early this morning (if you want to be specific). I shall share my thoughts with you now. I can say that this movie was yes, pretty great. It's up there with the first Iron Man in terms of quality. The amazing thing is they were able to take all these huge characters and put them together in a movie and make it feel like each got enough time to breathe (except maybe Hawkeye who sort of gets the shaft--get it? He's an archer and I said shaft? Yeah, I'm lame). Much of the credit for this film being as good as it is goes to director Joss Whedon. You can feel his presence in the film for sure, especially in all the hilarious one-liners sprinkled throughout. Seriously, this movie has some moments that are absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious besides the usual drama and action.
Oh, and what action there is. Things explode, guns fire, people punch, and a Hulk most definitely does smash. I would say Captain America and Iron Man are the best characters in the movie, with Thor and the Hulk doing a great job and the Black Widow and especially Hawkeye seeming a bit like an afterthought. As for Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, he is quite delightful getting genuine screen-time as opposed to his mostly-cameos in the Marvel flicks leading up to this.
My complaints are minor. Even though pretty much all the characters shine you still really want to to see more of them, and that big battle in NYC (this isn't a spoiler, any preview makes it clear there is big fighting in NYC) seems to start to drag after a little bit. Yes, it looks impressive and is interesting, but it just keeps going and going. Also, whereas Loki seemed a bit more nuanced in Thor, in Avengers he seems more just straight-up evil and maniacal as opposed to deeply emotional sad and complex in addition to evil. Still, this is one stellar flick and quite worth seeing. Oh, but make sure you stay until completely after the credits. Even if you think everything extra is done during the credits, stay until completely after the movie if you truly want to see everything in the film.
Labels: Avengers, Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Joss Whedon, movies, rant-reviews
Thoughts About Avengers Before I See It AKA Fan's Guilt
Things On My Chest That I've Got To Confess....
I haven't seen Avengers yet. I had one of the fun surprises in the movie ruined for me--which was lame--so I've put myself on an, "Avengers blackout," where I won't look at any new reviews or information about the movie to avoid spoiling anything else before I see it tonight at midnight with my incredibly patient-with-me girlfriend.
Before I see it though, I admit that while I am excited and have been waiting for this since that scene after the credits of Iron Man where we hear, "Let me tell you about the Avengers Initiative," I have this nagging feeling. I feel a little like a traitor to the very men who helped create these amazing characters, you see.
What's that? What am I talking about? Well, Stan Lee is happy to mug for Marvel and take the credit for making the Avengers and all those other characters, but so much of it was a multi-person effort with people like Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, and more making these characters and the initial tales that made them so popular. Creators who made some of our favorite heroes (Avengers and all the others) were not repaid with royalties but instead are often dying fighting Marvel for their art back (Kirby),or having to beg the comic community for help for their health problems (Quite a few). There is some help however, in a not-for-profit that was founded known as the Hero Initiative that helps comic creators because publishers don't have the heart to do so.
Even the Initiative can only do so much, as creators like Gene Colan who received help from them still had to sell art to merely pay hospital bills until his passing. The family of the creators of Superman are fighting DC for some money for the most-recognized character of all-time. Jack Kirby's name wasn't even in the credits for the Avenger's movie and Stan Lee sounded like he didn't give a damn, until Marvel at the last minute put Kirby's name in--probably to avoid too much bad press.
All these creators screwed over, and Stan Lee has enough power he could shame Marvel into doing something but they pay him enough money he keeps his mouth shut and he keeps smiling for the camera. I have a complex relationship with Lee. I love him for the things he helped create and write, and will be so sad when he dies, but I also feel a bit bitter about how he doesn't seem to care at all about his fellow creators. He's like a relative who lavishes you with love but ignores all your other cousins. You feel great, but feel bad for them.
How can I truly enjoy Avenger's knowing that creators are still having all this done to them, and fans are cheering about corporations screwing over the men who made these tales because they don't want to risk losing getting their monthly hero-stories if a company decides it would rather not publish Superman or Iron-Man instead of paying royalties? God, look at, "Before Watchmen," and how little respect DC must have for Alan Moore now considering he has said countless times over the years, "DC, please quit screwing with me," and they haven't in the variety of ways I have read about them doing crass things to Moore. Really, how can I? I'm not sure, but there are some opinions out there.
Some people suggest just not seeing Avengers, but I'm not sure that's the way to go. I like the idea of donating money to causes that support creators in equal to your ticket price to see Avengers. That sounds like a really fair thing to do. It show creators we value them, and lets us enjoy something some people have been wanting since that first issue of The Avengers came out all those years ago.
Go to this link to give, and give what you want. Yes, it is tax-deductible as they are a non-profit. It makes me feel like I'm both supporting the people who made the characters I love, and the ability of a company to make more movies about those characters (although its not as if Avengers will be hurting for money).
There, I've said my peace.
Posted by David Charles Bitterbaum at 2:42 PM 3 comments:
Labels: Alan Moore, Avengers, Before Watchmen, Captain America, Charity, comics, DC, Gene Colan, internet, Iron Man, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Marvel, movies, Stan Lee, Superman
Thoughts On The Walking Dead Video-Game Episode 1 ...
Thoughts About Avengers Before I See It AKA Fan's ...


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text:
About Light on Life
Guruji himself was keen to reach a wider audience provided it could be done without compromising the integrity of the subject. His whole life has been devoted to propagating yoga in its purest form and the book is just a continuation of that.
This book challenges the reader to think for themselves, and does not present a potted wisdom that would be avidly swallowed but immediately eliminated. There is a danger that people who do a lot of bodywork, including yoga teachers, can become intellectually passive. We have to discover the asanas for ourselves, even though we are taught them in class by a teacher, and thinking is the same process. We have to discover for ourselves the meaning of yoga so that it comes alive for us, even though it is guided thought. As John says: "Someone can't do an asana for you so that you get a benefit. In the same way, other people's thoughts do not benefit us in quite the way we tend to think they do. It's what we think out for ourselves that brings the real benefit. We can digest it and eventually integrate it. The aim of the book is to make people actually think for themselves instead of bamboozling them with arcanities".
n 1979, an accidental injury forced Guruji to re-learn his yoga and his own practice. John was in Pune just before the accident and then just after it, and says:"since I was an absolute beginner, except for the fact that one knew he had an accident, I wasn't myself aware of the difficulties he was going through. It wasn't as if to the naked eye he suddenly was a physical wreck. He very much kept inside the sensations of pain and difficulty he was experiencing, and just worked away, and I didn't know enough to see a difference or to see the struggle. It was not something that was generally talked about. He turned misfortune into something good because it forced him to re-learn things and enabled him to get back the freshness of being a beginner and that helped him to avoid the mistake of pulling up the ladder behind him. He was forced by the accident to go back, in his terms anyway, to the bottom rung so he never forgot to keep the bottom rung on the ground for the lowliest invalid or the poorest practitioner. He turned that misfortune to our advantage and used it to deepen his own penetration." The wisdom and insight gained during this period is not contained within Light on Yoga, which was already a classic text by that time. Light on Life is truly an up-to-date representation of Guruji's practice and philosophy.
The book also contains several anecdotes about Guruji. It is not an autobiography but contains descriptions of personal experiences that illustrate the points being made. John explains that one advantage of having the book partially written by somebody else is that Guruji would not have, out of modesty, put certain things in about himself. These little anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book serve to leaven the text and create a personal interest. It's not that Guruji was not willing for them to be known at all; it's that when he writes, he sits down to explain the subject and it is not his nature to put in personal details. As Guruji kept saying throughout the writing process, "the book is not about me". But the book does provide a very strong impression of Guruji's own inward journey, and the stories about his own life and struggles serve as examples to us.
As for myself, I am often reluctant to declare that I am a yogi. I can only say that I am on the path, and am very near. I can say I'm a forerunner no doubt. I am near the goal, let it come on its own. I have no motive. I had lots of motives in the early days. I have no motive now. My motive is only to continue what I learned so that I may not slip back. It's not an ambition, but I do not want to have a fall - anavasthitattva. And I do not want to develop the character of tamasic nature in my system, that's all.
One of the aspects of his life that he does talk about in the book is his relationship with his wife, Ramamani. Astadala Yogamala (Collected works) 2 begins with a tribute to Mrs Iyengar and John remembers correcting the English on that and hardly touching a comma, because it was just straight from Guruji and read absolutely perfectly.
I had a passionate marriage, and if my wife, Ramamani, was alive today the intensity of our feelings would be undimmed. Often one partner in a marriage will pursue yoga or another spiritual path, and they will leave the other partner behind. They must not. They must do whatever they have to in order to bring the other partner along or to always return to the other partner. This is the only way to keep the marriage strong.
Guruji's absolute adherence to the practice of yoga shows the difference between faith and belief. We tend to use the word faith nowadays to mean belief, as in "faith-based schools", but what that really means is accepting a load of beliefs unconditionally. Guruji has lived his whole life on faith, but that didn't mean acting on untested premises; it meant having the courage always to go forward, to explore, to test, to question, to find out for himself and then to go further and further intelligently, in incremental steps, both as teacher and practitioner. That is acting on faith, it is not living one's life according to a set of preexisting beliefs, which are based in the past and are bound, at some point, to lead one astray. Guruji's faith is best expressed in his own words at the conclusion of the book.
Yogic fire (yogagni) exists in a latent or pristine state in everyone. It has consumed my life. But nothing is accomplished forever. If I let cool ashes cover my fire through carelessness, arrogance, or laxity of practice, the fire will lose its transforming heat. I have not retired and I never shall. I will always keep the inner fire burning.
That is why practice (sadhana) cannot be stopped. Of course I age and regress at certain levels. But my body and mind are the servers and followers of the soul. The unity of these three gives me the right to call myself a yogi. But even though I am on a spiritual level, I will never say that practice is not required.
I am old, and death inevitably approaches. But both birth and death are beyond the will of a human being. They are not my domain. I do not think about it. Yoga has taught me to think of only working to live a useful life. The complexity of the life of the mind comes to an end at death, with all its sadness and happiness. If one is already free from that complexity, death comes naturally and smoothly. If you live holistically at every moment, as yoga teaches, even though the ego is annihilated, I will not say, "Die before you die." I would rather say, "Live before you die, so that death is also a lively celebration."
Hokkusei, the great Japanese artist, said when he was already in his seventies, that given another ten years, he would be a great artist. I salute his humility. Let me conclude by quoting the words of the Spanish artist Goya who, in the seventy eighth year of his life, when he was already deaf and debilitated, said, Aun aprendo – "I am still learning." It is true for me too. I will never stop learning, and I have tried to share some of these lessons with you. I do pray that my ending will be your beginning. The great rewards and the countless blessings of a life spent following the Inward Journey await you.
Light on Life