text:
The Friday Cover is POLITICO Magazine's email of the week's best, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.
Martin Dempsey's World Is Falling Apart
The outgoing Joint Chiefs chairman bids farewell to an alliance beset by crises.
By JAMES KITFIELD
James Kitfield is senior fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress. He is a former senior correspondent for National Journal and has written about defense, national security and foreign policy issues from Washington, D.C., for more than two decades.
BERLIN—As his convoy sliced lights flashing through the busy streets of Berlin on a recent morning, Gen. Martin Dempsey could see a good part of his own career. He could see through the tinted windows of his limousine the bombed out ruins of the World War II-era Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, and the Brandenburg Gate where the Iron Curtain once placed Germany on the front lines of the Cold War—and where as a young Army lieutenant Dempsey helped guard the border against massed Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces. Soon the convoy would arrive at the German Ministry of Defense where Dempsey would be awarded the Knight Commander's Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany, and lay a wreath to the war dead of Germany's modern army next to the same building where Adolf Hitler and his Nazi minions once plotted the conquest of Europe.
At the end of a long and storied career in uniform Dempsey was in a reflective mood, and the one reality he could not escape was just how much war and conflict there still was to be fought, and how many memorials to the fallen had yet to be erected.
This was his final trip as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the last act of a Zelig-like military career that began over here more than 40 years earlier in a small German village, then proceeded to his personal involvement in every major war since, starting with the famed "left hook" in the first Iraq War and then command of the 1st Armored Division in the second. Forty long years of effort—and yet now at the end Dempsey is blunt in admitting that some things are actually worse than when he started his unusually long four-year tenure as a member of the Joint Chiefs.
By Dempsey's reckoning today's complex array of threats presents NATO with its greatest challenge since the end of the Cold War, and a refugee exodus from war zones the like of which hasn't been seen in Europe since World War II. "As recently as four years ago, most of the strategic white papers and plans within the alliance began with some version of the following sentence: 'Europe is experiencing an age of prosperity and peace unlike any in its history,'" Dempsey said in an interview on his aircraft. "My challenge to my NATO colleagues now is, 'If you can still write that sentence with candor and a straight face, please give me a call. Because I just don't see it that way."
The crises are mounting perilously even as Dempsey formally leaves office on Friday. During his trip to Berlin in mid-September, German leaders opened the country's doors to a tsunami of refugees flooding into Europe from war-ravaged countries Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, only to reverse itself days later by shutting its borders, throwing the European response to the refugee crisis into disarray. In Istanbul, Dempsey and other NATO military chiefs would hear impassioned entreaties from Turkish officials struggling to cope with the instability and Islamic State terrorism along their southern border with Syria and Iraq—even as back in Washington U.S. military officials were admitting the utter failure of the meager training program for free Syrian rebels.
Then, during his final stop in Estonia, Dempsey would visit a NATO ally that lives in the shadow of a revanchist Russia, its leaders ever fearful they might be next after Moscow has finished dismembering Georgia, forcefully annexing Crimea and redrawing the borders of eastern Ukraine by force. Meanwhile, the entire alliance anxiously awaits a U.S. decision on whether to remove all NATO troops from Afghanistan next year as planned, keeping faith with war-weary publics on both sides of the Atlantic, but risking creating yet another wellspring of instability, mass migration and terrorism. To an outside observer the NATO alliance that revealed itself during Dempsey's last trip looked rattled at best—and weak-willed at worst.
Dempsey's last official trip was not supposed to go this way. He had participated in the historic victories in the Cold War and 1991's Persian Gulf War, successes that left the United States that most exceptional of all nations, the lone superpower in a unipolar world. Rapid NATO expansion in the 1990s to secure those gains had very nearly realized the dream of a Europe "whole and free." More recently, during the longest period of war in U.S. history, Dempsey was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs to actually come of age as a senior officer on the battlefields of that conflict.
And yet now, coming out of those wars, Dempsey sees yet more escalating crises while Washington and other Western capitals slash defense budgets, still vainly searching for a "peace dividend" when there is little real peace to be leveraged. "The elephant in the room among NATO military leaders is declining resources, and increasing commitments," Dempsey says. His own struggles to break through the political dysfunction in Washington have been well documented. The Army general with a master's in literature was ultimately unable to find the words to convey a simple truth to Washington politicians: The continued subtraction of seemingly abstract numbers in a budget document would one day translate into blood spilt and American lives unnecessarily lost on a future battlefield.
Letter From Ukraine
The Return of the 'Afgantsy'
By Amie Ferris-Rotman
Washington And The World
By Philip Gordon
Hillary's Weapon of Mass Distraction
During his long career, Martin Dempsey's lack of ego among four-star officers where that baggage often weighs heavily has been a defining characteristic of the man, as is his penchant for wearing an Irish-American heritage on his sleeve, and raising a fine tenor voice in song at the drop of a hint.
Indeed, the young Martin Dempsey never for a moment saw himself here. He came out of Catholic grammar and high school in Goshen, New York, followed by four years at the U.S. Military Academy. But he had never really wanted to go to West Point, let alone make a career in the U.S. Army. The application to the U.S. Military Academy had been the idea of his high school track coach, and when the surprise acceptance letter arrived at their home his mother had burst into tears. That's when the young Marty Dempsey first realized his life was taking an unexpected turn: Oh my God, he thought at the time, I'm going to West Point!
The Cold War Army he joined in 1974 was trying hard to forget the bitter memories of counterinsurgency warfare in Vietnam, and single-mindedly focused on the monolithic threat of the Soviet Army, with its masses of armored tank divisions. The U.S. military's answer to the threat, developed over two decades, was a smaller but more agile force that honed its synchronized air and ground forces at high-tech training centers, and embraced an "Air-Land Battle" doctrine or rapid maneuver. They became the undisputed masters of high-intensity maneuver warfare. Like many Army officers, Dempsey spent much of his career in Germany studying and training in the Fulda Gap, a natural funnel of flat plains bounded by mountains where it was anticipated the Soviets would launch World War III with an armored invasion of Western Europe. And then in 1990 the Soviet Union collapsed without a shot being fired, and Dempsey and other officers of his generation recognized the wisdom of a strategy of patient "deterrence" and "containment."
Martin Dempsey
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text:
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    android:versionName="1.0" >

    <uses-sdk
        android:minSdkVersion="8"
        android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
from __future__ import unicode_literals

import inspect
import mock
import raven
import time

from raven.base import Client, ClientState
from raven.exceptions import RateLimited
from raven.transport import AsyncTransport
from raven.transport.http import HTTPTransport
from raven.utils.stacks import iter_stack_frames
from raven.utils import six
from raven.utils.testutils import TestCase

class TempStoreClient(Client):
    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
        self.events = []
        super(TempStoreClient, self).__init__(**kwargs)

    def is_enabled(self):
        return True

    def send(self, **kwargs):
        self.events.append(kwargs)

class ClientStateTest(TestCase):
    def test_should_try_online(self):
        state = ClientState()
        self.assertEquals(state.should_try(), True)

    def test_should_try_new_error(self):
        state = ClientState()
        state.status = state.ERROR
        state.last_check = time.time()
        state.retry_number = 1
        self.assertEquals(state.should_try(), False)

    def test_should_try_time_passed_error(self):
        state = ClientState()
        state.status = state.ERROR
        state.last_check = time.time() - 10
        state.retry_number = 1
        self.assertEquals(state.should_try(), True)

    def test_set_fail(self):
        state = ClientState()
        state.set_fail()
        self.assertEquals(state.status, state.ERROR)
        self.assertNotEquals(state.last_check, None)
        self.assertEquals(state.retry_number, 1)

    def test_set_success(self):
        state = ClientState()
        state.status = state.ERROR
        state.last_check = 'foo'
        state.retry_number = 0
        state.set_success()
        self.assertEquals(state.status, state.ONLINE)
        self.assertEquals(state.last_check, None)
        self.assertEquals(state.retry_number, 0)

    def test_should_try_retry_after(self):
        state = ClientState()
        state.status = state.ERROR
        state.last_check = time.time()
        state.retry_number = 1
        state.retry_after = 1
        self.assertFalse(state.should_try())

    def test_should_try_retry_after_passed(self):
        state = ClientState()
        state.status = state.ERROR
        state.last_check = time.time() - 1
        state.retry_number = 1
        state.retry_after = 1
        self.assertTrue(state.should_try())

class ClientTest(TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        self.client = TempStoreClient()

    def test_first_client_is_singleton(self):
        from raven import base
        base.Raven = None

        client = Client()
        client2 = Client()

        assert base.Raven is client
        assert client is not client2

    @mock.patch('raven.transport.http.HTTPTransport.send')
    @mock.patch('raven.base.ClientState.should_try')
    def test_send_remote_failover(self, should_try, send):
        should_try.return_value = True

        client = Client(
            dsn='sync+http://public:secret@example.com/1'
        )

        # test error
        send.side_effect = Exception()
        client.send_remote('sync+http://example.com/api/store', client.encode({}))
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ERROR)

        # test recovery
        send.side_effect = None
        client.send_remote('sync+http://example.com/api/store', client.encode({}))
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ONLINE)

    @mock.patch('raven.transport.http.HTTPTransport.send')
    @mock.patch('raven.base.ClientState.should_try')
    def test_send_remote_failover_with_retry_after(self, should_try, send):
        should_try.return_value = True

        client = Client(
            dsn='sync+http://public:secret@example.com/1'
        )

        # test error
        send.side_effect = RateLimited('foo', 5)
        client.send_remote('sync+http://example.com/api/1/store/', client.encode({}))
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ERROR)
        self.assertEqual(client.state.retry_after, 5)

        # test recovery
        send.side_effect = None
        client.send_remote('sync+http://example.com/api/1/store/', client.encode({}))
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ONLINE)
        self.assertEqual(client.state.retry_after, 0)

    @mock.patch('raven.conf.remote.RemoteConfig.get_transport')
    @mock.patch('raven.base.ClientState.should_try')
    def test_async_send_remote_failover(self, should_try, get_transport):
        should_try.return_value = True
        async_transport = AsyncTransport()
        async_transport.async_send = async_send = mock.Mock()
        get_transport.return_value = async_transport

        client = Client(
            dsn='http://public:secret@example.com/1',
        )

        # test immediate raise of error
        async_send.side_effect = Exception()
        client.send_remote('http://example.com/api/1/store/', client.encode({}))
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ERROR)

        # test recovery
        client.send_remote('http://example.com/api/1/store/', client.encode({}))
        success_cb = async_send.call_args[0][2]
        success_cb()
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ONLINE)

        # test delayed raise of error
        client.send_remote('http://example.com/api/1/store/', client.encode({}))
        failure_cb = async_send.call_args[0][3]
        failure_cb(Exception())
        self.assertEquals(client.state.status, client.state.ERROR)

    @mock.patch('raven.base.Client.send_remote')
    @mock.patch('raven.base.time.time')
    def test_send(self, time, send_remote):
        time.return_value = 1328055286.51
        client = Client(
            dsn='http://public:secret@example.com/1',
        )
        client.send(**{
            'foo': 'bar',
        })
        send_remote.assert_called_once_with(
            url='http://example.com/api/1/store/',
            data=client.encode({'foo': 'bar'}),
            headers={
                'User-Agent': 'raven-python/%s' % (raven.VERSION,),
                'Content-Type': 'application/octet-stream',
                'Content-Encoding': client.get_content_encoding(),
                'X-Sentry-Auth': (
                    'Sentry sentry_timestamp=1328055286.51, '
                    'sentry_client=raven-python/%s, sentry_version=6, '
                    'sentry_key=public, '
                    'sentry_secret=secret' % (raven.VERSION,))
            },
        )

    @mock.patch('raven.base.Client.send_remote')
    @mock.patch('raven.base.time.time')
    def test_send_with_auth_header(self, time, send_remote):
        time.return_value = 1328055286.51
        client = Client(
            dsn='http://public:secret@example.com/1',
        )
        client.send(auth_header='foo', **{
            'foo': 'bar',
        })
        send_remote.assert_called_once_with(
            url='http://example.com/api/1/store/',
            data=client.encode({'foo': 'bar'}),
            headers={
                'User-Agent': 'raven-python/%s' % (raven.VERSION,),
                'Content-Type': 'application/octet-stream',
                'Content-Encoding': client.get_content_encoding(),
                'X-Sentry-Auth': 'foo',
            },
        )

    @mock.patch('raven.transport.http.HTTPTransport.send')
    @mock.patch('raven.base.ClientState.should_try')
    def test_raise_exception_on_send_error(self, should_try, _send_remote):
        should_try.return_value = True
        client = Client(
            dsn='sync+http://public:secret@example.com/1',
        )

        # Test for the default behaviour in which a send error is handled by the client
        _send_remote.side_effect = Exception()
        client.capture('Message', data={}, date=None, time_spent=10,
                       extra={}, stack=None, tags=None, message='Test message')
        assert client.state.status == client.state.ERROR

        # Test for the case in which a send error is raised to the calling frame.
        client = Client(
            dsn='sync+http://public:secret@example.com/1',
            raise_send_errors=True,
        )
        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
            client.capture('Message', data={}, date=None, time_spent=10,
                           extra={}, stack=None, tags=None, message='Test message')

    def test_encode_decode(self):
        data = {'foo': 'bar'}
        encoded = self.client.encode(data)
        self.assertTrue(type(encoded), str)
        self.assertEquals(data, self.client.decode(encoded))

    def test_get_public_dsn(self):
        client = Client('http://public:secret@example.com/1')
        public_dsn = client.get_public_dsn()
        self.assertEquals(public_dsn, '//public@example.com/1')

    def test_explicit_message_on_message_event(self):
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test', data={
            'message': 'foo'
        })

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'foo')

    def test_message_from_kwargs(self):
        try:
            raise ValueError('foo')
        except ValueError:
            self.client.captureException(message='test', data={})

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'test')

    def test_explicit_message_on_exception_event(self):
        try:
            raise ValueError('foo')
        except ValueError:
            self.client.captureException(data={'message': 'foobar'})

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'foobar')

    def test_exception_event(self):
        try:
            raise ValueError('foo')
        except ValueError:
            self.client.captureException()

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'ValueError: foo')
        self.assertTrue('exception' in event)
        exc = event['exception']['values'][0]
        self.assertEquals(exc['type'], 'ValueError')
        self.assertEquals(exc['value'], 'foo')
        self.assertEquals(exc['module'], ValueError.__module__)  # this differs in some Python versions
        assert 'stacktrace' not in event
        stacktrace = exc['stacktrace']
        self.assertEquals(len(stacktrace['frames']), 1)
        frame = stacktrace['frames'][0]
        self.assertEquals(frame['abs_path'], __file__.replace('.pyc', '.py'))
        self.assertEquals(frame['filename'], 'tests/base/tests.py')
        self.assertEquals(frame['module'], __name__)
        self.assertEquals(frame['function'], 'test_exception_event')
        self.assertTrue('timestamp' in event)

    def test_decorator_preserves_function(self):
        @self.client.capture_exceptions
        def test1():
            return 'foo'

        self.assertEquals(test1(), 'foo')

    class DecoratorTestException(Exception):
        pass

    def test_decorator_functionality(self):
        @self.client.capture_exceptions
        def test2():
            raise self.DecoratorTestException()

        try:
            test2()
        except self.DecoratorTestException:
            pass

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'DecoratorTestException')
        exc = event['exception']['values'][0]
        self.assertEquals(exc['type'], 'DecoratorTestException')
        self.assertEquals(exc['module'], self.DecoratorTestException.__module__)
        stacktrace = exc['stacktrace']
        # this is a wrapped class object with __call__ so three frames are expected
        self.assertEquals(len(stacktrace['frames']), 3)
        frame = stacktrace['frames'][-1]
        self.assertEquals(frame['module'], __name__)
        self.assertEquals(frame['function'], 'test2')

    def test_decorator_filtering(self):
        @self.client.capture_exceptions(self.DecoratorTestException)
        def test3():
            raise Exception()

        try:
            test3()
        except Exception:
            pass

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 0)

    def test_context_manager_functionality(self):
        def test4():
            raise self.DecoratorTestException()

        try:
            with self.client.capture_exceptions():
                test4()
        except self.DecoratorTestException:
            pass

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'DecoratorTestException')
        exc = event['exception']['values'][0]
        self.assertEquals(exc['type'], 'DecoratorTestException')
        self.assertEquals(exc['module'], self.DecoratorTestException.__module__)
        stacktrace = exc['stacktrace']
        # three frames are expected: test4, `with` block and context manager internals
        self.assertEquals(len(stacktrace['frames']), 3)
        frame = stacktrace['frames'][-1]
        self.assertEquals(frame['module'], __name__)
        self.assertEquals(frame['function'], 'test4')

    def test_content_manager_filtering(self):
        def test5():
            raise Exception()

        try:
            with self.client.capture_exceptions(self.DecoratorTestException):
                test5()
        except Exception:
            pass

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 0)

    def test_message_event(self):
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test')

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'test')
        assert 'stacktrace' not in event
        self.assertTrue('timestamp' in event)

    def test_fingerprint(self):
        self.client.captureMessage(
            message='test',
            fingerprint=['{{ default }}', 'foobar'],
        )

        assert len(self.client.events) == 1
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        assert event['fingerprint'] == ['{{ default }}', 'foobar']

    def test_context(self):
        self.client.context.merge({
            'tags': {'foo': 'bar'},
        })
        try:
            raise ValueError('foo')
        except ValueError:
            self.client.captureException()
        else:
            self.fail('Exception should have been raised')

        assert len(self.client.events) == 1
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        assert event['tags'] == {'foo': 'bar'}

    def test_stack_explicit_frames(self):
        def bar():
            return inspect.stack()

        frames = bar()

        self.client.captureMessage('test', stack=iter_stack_frames(frames))

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'test')
        assert 'stacktrace' in event
        self.assertEquals(len(frames), len(event['stacktrace']['frames']))
        for frame, frame_i in zip(frames, event['stacktrace']['frames']):
            self.assertEquals(frame[0].f_code.co_filename, frame_i['abs_path'])
            self.assertEquals(frame[0].f_code.co_name, frame_i['function'])

    def test_stack_auto_frames(self):
        self.client.captureMessage('test', stack=True)

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['message'], 'test')
        self.assertTrue('stacktrace' in event)
        self.assertTrue('timestamp' in event)

    def test_site(self):
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test', data={'site': 'test'})

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        assert 'site' in event['tags']
        assert event['tags']['site'] == 'test'

    def test_implicit_site(self):
        self.client = TempStoreClient(site='foo')
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test')

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        assert 'site' in event['tags']
        assert event['tags']['site'] == 'foo'

    def test_logger(self):
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test', data={'logger': 'test'})

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['logger'], 'test')
        self.assertTrue('timestamp' in event)

    def test_tags(self):
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test', tags={'logger': 'test'})

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        self.assertEquals(event['tags'], {'logger': 'test'})

    def test_client_extra_context(self):
        self.client.extra = {
            'foo': 'bar',
            'logger': 'baz',
        }
        self.client.captureMessage(message='test', extra={'logger': 'test'})

        self.assertEquals(len(self.client.events), 1)
        event = self.client.events.pop(0)
        if six.PY3:
            expected = {'logger': "'test'", 'foo': "'bar'"}
        else:
            expected = {'logger': "u'test'", 'foo': "u'bar'"}
        self.assertEquals(event['extra'], expected)

    def test_transport_registration(self):
        client = Client('http://public:secret@example.com/1',
                        transport=HTTPTransport)
        assert type(client.remote.get_transport()) is HTTPTransport

        client = Client('sync+http://public:secret@example.com/1')
        assert type(client.remote.get_transport()) is HTTPTransport

    def test_marks_in_app_frames_for_stacktrace(self):
        client = TempStoreClient(
            include_paths=['foo'],
            exclude_paths=['foo.bar'],
        )
        client.captureMessage('hello', data={
            'stacktrace': {
                'frames': [
                    {'module': 'foo'},
                    {'module': 'bar'},
                    {'module': 'foo.bar'},
                    {'module': 'foo.baz'},
                ]
            }
        })

        event = client.events.pop(0)
        frames = event['stacktrace']['frames']
        assert frames[0]['in_app']
        assert not frames[1]['in_app']
        assert not frames[2]['in_app']
        assert frames[3]['in_app']

    def test_marks_in_app_frames_for_exception(self):
        client = TempStoreClient(
            include_paths=['foo'],
            exclude_paths=['foo.bar'],
        )
        client.captureMessage('hello', data={
            'exception': {
                'values': [{
                    'stacktrace': {
                        'frames': [
                            {'module': 'foo'},
                            {'module': 'bar'},
                            {'module': 'foo.bar'},
                            {'module': 'foo.baz'},
                        ]
                    }
                }]
            }
        })

        event = client.events.pop(0)
        frames = event['exception']['values'][0]['stacktrace']['frames']
        assert frames[0]['in_app']
        assert not frames[1]['in_app']
        assert not frames[2]['in_app']
        assert frames[3]['in_app']


Hong Kong has a bit of everything — great good, easy to get around, good shopping and short flights to most of Southeast and North Asia.
Valid for travel on the outbound from August 8th – November 30th for Monday through Thursday departures. Must purchase at least 7 days in advance of departure and by June 30th, 2014.
Book on Orbitz using dates found on ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search. Make sure "Additional search options" is selected then check "Narrow the search to my preferred airlines" and select "Air Canada".


There are no tithes at all paid: the inhabitants being all Tenants to the Hospital: & the Governors of the Hospital being Impropriators.
Shops not appurtenant to houses.
The present maintenance of the Vicar is a house and per annum £20, whereof 20 marks is the stipend appointed by King Henry 8th and the other 20 nobles added by the Governors.
Casual duties £5. The Easter Offerings and Duties for Church burials are received by the Impropriators.


The basic ecology of well-researched earthworm species, such as Lumbricus terrestris, remains relatively unknown. In order to contribute to the limited body of knowledge, the present work aimed to investigate if specific behaviours could be detected between an adult and the cocoons it produced by comparison with a non-parental adult and cocoons. Modified Evans' boxes (0.8×0.2×0.008 m) with recently mated adults allowed observation of their habits under what was essentially a 2-D system. Experimental manipulation (at 81 days) involved four treatments: (1) L. terrestris removal (LtRm); (2) L. terrestris replacement (LtRp), where individuals were replaced by others; (3) control, with no manipulation and (4) L. terrestris removal control (CLtRm) where individuals were removed and then reintroduced in the same box, to account for any effects of the removal method. Burrowing patterns of adults and later, hatchlings, were recorded throughout the duration of the experiment (191 days). Cocoon production across treatments did not differ significantly (p>0.05) and averaged 26±6.4 cocoons worm−1 over a 26 week period. In the LtRm treatment mean cocoon production was 12.6±2.7 cocoons worm−1 over 11 weeks. Forty one percent of cocoons were deposited in the upper 0.05 m of the soil profile. Cocoons below that depth were found deposited in side burrows (1–4 cm in length) and were coated with earthworm casts. Hatchling number and survival rate did not differ significantly across treatments (p>0.05) with means±s.d. of 2±2.2 and 62±29%, respectively. Hatchling mass in the LtRm treatment (0.4±0.38 g), was found to be significantly greater (p<0.01) than that of all other treatments (0.12±0.12 g). In this experimental set up, the presence of parental earthworms and other con-specifics had no significant effect on cocoon viability and hatchling survival, however, results indicated a negative effect of adult presence on hatchling growth.


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Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Walkthrough: Shoal Cave
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire owned by Nintendo.
Main Walkthrough Page
Shoal Cave - High Tide
Golbat Common Both Either Walking, Surf
Sealeo Uncommon Both Either Walking
Spheal Common Both Either Walking
Tentacool Common Both Either Surf
Tentacruel Common Both Either Surf
Zubat (horde) Rare Both Either Walking (Low Tide Only)
- In order to explore Shoal Cave, you must first find Shoal Cave. It is the dominant feature of Route 125, a short trip northeast of Mossdeep City. The Cave is smack in the middle of the Route, located beside a pair of trainers. You'll need Surf to reach it.
- The first major thing to note about Shoal Cave is the nature of the water inside. The tide will ebb and rise depending on what time of day you visit Shoal Cave. If you enter during the day at night, or from 9 am to 2 pm, you'll find the waters at their highest. We'll start with high tide.
- In the first area of Shoal Cave you'll find an old man, standing on the edge of the water inside. He'll ask you to bring him some Shoal Salt and Shoal Shells. Bring him four of each and he'll make you a Shell Bell. No problem, old dude.
- Hop into the water and Surf to the bottom-right corner of the screen. You'll find a thin path leading to a dead end. You'll find a hidden Star Piece at this dead end. Hop back into the water and Surf north, where you'll find another room waiting.
- Surf north in the next room. There are small platforms on your right and left as you sail along; climb onto both to find Shoal Shells. Hop back in the water and Surf east to find shallows; there's a Shoal Shell to the north, a Shoal Shell to the south, and a Rare Candy to the west. Head through the exit in the southeast and you'll be back in the first room, not far from a Big Pearl.
- That's all for the current Shoal Cave. Leave and come back either in the early morning (4 am to 9 am) or early evening (3 pm to 7 pm). The layout will be... different.
May searches the Shoal Cave for Shoal Shells and Shoal Salts.
Shoal Cave - Nighttime
- Head into the Cave. (Bring the Mach Bike, as well.) The water has all but disappeared, and when you head north you'll gain access to a cave on the lower floor. This will take you to a set of stairs and a doorway. Go through the door.
- There's a ramp on your right. Use the Mach Bike to get up it. You'll find TM79, Frost Breath, at the top. Go down the ramp on the right side of the TM and you can go up and west to find a pushable boulder; lugging it out of your way will allow you to get at a heap of Shoal Salt. A Martial Artist standing near the Shoal Salt will give you a Focus Band.
- Continue west. There are two ladders. The first from the left leads to a long, roundabout path which will eventually take you to a Shoal Salt and an Ice Heal. It also loops back to the stairs / doorway combo. The second ladder will take you up to two Shoal Salts.
- Return to the room with the Bike ramps, cross them again, and go south. You'll find a ladder leading to an icy area. Slide your way to the south, until you see a semi-puzzle consisting of sliding across an icy obstacle course. Edge just slightly lower than the larger patch of bare ground in the ice, then slide west. If you do this correctly you'll slide past the patch and hit a smaller one to the west. This is just south of a gap in the north that you can fit through to escape the puzzle.
- Head north. Up a small set of stairs you'll find a northern path and some more stairs on your right. To access the stairs, slide up to the bare patch to its left, then slide left, then down, then over to the right. These stairs lead up to an icy rock where you can evolve ice-type pokemon (namely, Eevee into Glaceon), as well as a Never-Melt Ice. Check the north end of this chunk of ground to find Glalitite. Look carefully, as it's difficult to see in this bright area.
- Head north to find another ice patch. Slide north to the far wall, then right to hit an icicle. This will allow you to slide south to a side patch of ground. Hunt around on it (right beside where you land, in fact) to find a hidden Ice Heal.
- Slide north from this patch of land to the nearest, small square of bare ground. Slide east from here, then south, and you'll wind up beside TM07, Hail. Sweet. (Be careful not to jump off the nearby ledge. I did that twice.) That's it for this area.
- Return to the old man. Hand over four of each item listed above and you'll get your Shell Bell. You can return to the Shoal Cave each day, find the ingredients in the same spots, and bring them to the old man for another Shell Bell. The first time you speak to him and complete a Shell Bell, he'll also hand over Slowbronite. Nice.
Labels: jrpg, omega ruby and alpha sapphire, pokemon, rpg, video game, walkthrough
you should state how HARD it is to find glalienite... (it looks tlike the ice is sparkling) :(
SLTE December 15, 2014 at 6:20 PM
I... did...?
Tekaramity December 18, 2014 at 5:09 PM
There's a hidden Pearl in the first room during low tide. Big bucks, eh! XD Well, sorta. Anyhow, it's on the western side of the room.
Also, is it just me, or does this place /feel/ different in ORAS? o.O Maybe it's just been too long since I played Sapphire / Emerald, huh.
SLTE December 19, 2014 at 11:00 PM
Thanks, dude. I'll verify it on my next hunt through and edit it in.
It feels a bit bigger to me. I don't remember the lower levels being quite so big, and I honestly don't remember the sliding puzzle. I'm pretty sure I only went through Shoal Cave once or twice in the old days, though, so the differences escape me.
found sno runt at low tide
that was a big help!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This week I have been hooked on Victoria Spence's blog. If you don't know Victoria then get to know because her story is inspiring thousands worldwide to emphasise body positivity and confidence. From battling an eating disorder to spreading a body positive message to help others realise their worth, Victoria is making a difference to almost 90,000 people online towards the way they see their bodies. Complete babe!
As well as being a co-fonder for the global movement #Girlgains, BBC Podcast Host, Youtuber and lifestyle influencer, Victoria shares her passion for self love and healthy tips on her blog. Her latest post, Accepting the girl in the mirror, caught my eye and inspired me to write something similar. Self love is hard and I've learnt that it needs brushing up every single day, but the small changes can help create a positive impact. Here's 4 ways to boost self confidence.
It's scary how quickly we can pull ourselves apart. There are voices that tell us in order to be happy we must change x,y and z about ourselves and if you start believing in them then their influence gets stronger. Build a thicker skin, tell them to stop. Easier said than done, but something I like to do is tell myself (outloud: affirmations are awkward AF but do help) that I am fine. I have a body. My body. It's mine and it's stronger than you think. Come up with strong words will help you build a thicker skin, like a barrier building against the harsh voices telling you otherwise.
Your clothes can affect the way you portray yourself. Sure, most of us would love to wear yoga pants and baggy jumpers all day every day, but sometimes this can make us feel slumpy and unmotivated. Put together an outfit that is going to make you feel good. Whether it's something new, bright, your go-to outfit, or something out of your comfort zone, a well put together outfit can boost your confidence in minutes.
Or dance like you are on stage or in a music video! Music has a massive influence on my confidence, I have a playlist ready for whenever I feel unmotivated. It includes all of my favourite songs that I love to dance to. It might seem like the last thing you want to do but dancing to your favourite songs not only boosts your confidence but releases endorphins too!
Even if you feel weak telling someone, silly for thinking of it in the first place or even embarrassed, letting someone close to you know how you feel about yourself is really important. The likelihood is that what you think is wrong about your body is something that others love and envy about you. It might be a text or a phone call, I can always count on my best friends and family to boost my confidence. They are there for you just how you are for them. If you don't feel like you have anyone to talk to, download The Girl Gains : Fit & Fearless podcast, there's three inspiring ladies waiting for you.
Like I mentioned before, self love takes time and a lot of work. My style of writing is informal, light hearted and chatty because I want my content to be relatable and real. I am not comparing body confidence and self esteem to something that is light hearted because I know it's not a quick fix. However, I love sharing to you my personal tips that help boost my self esteem, with hope that it can inspire you too.


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Class of 2012 mkahn@thetartan.org
Wicked defies disappointment (and gravity)
Unloved by her father and despised by all around her, the Wicked Witch of the West still managed to charm Pittsburgh last Thursday night. Last week marked the return of Broadway Across America's production of Wicked to Pittsburgh, bringing Elphaba, Glinda, and all the wonders of Oz to the Benedum Center for the first time since 2008.
Pillbox | September 12, 2011
On behalf of The Tartan, we're excited to welcome you, the Class of 2015+, to your first week at Carnegie Mellon.
Terrorism demands reasoned response
The media does love drama. On the eve of national elections, a terrorist plot to destroy airplanes is unmasked. A multinational conspiracy devised by al-Qaeda, that ultimate bogeyman, is revealed just as the bombs are about to be loaded onto the jets they will take down. Now that this specific threat is defeated, though, it is time to take advantage of the panic to ensure that nothing like this ca...
Forum | May 15, 2011
SciTech Briefs
Study suggests southern Africa as language source
SciTech | April 25, 2011
100 YEARS AGO -- April 26, 1911
Andrew Carnegie himself is to be greeted in Pittsburgh this week with a reception in his honor. In its proposed program for the event, The Tartan indicates that the "Locomotive Spelling Cheer" will be given at 8:30 p.m., followed by the student audience singing at 8:35 p.m. That train of thought may be missing its caboose.
50 YEARS AGO -- April 26, 1961
Pillbox | April 25, 2011
Art and Photos


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Q: Identify value across multiple columns in a dataframe that contain string from a list in python I have a dataframe with multiple columns containing phrases. What I would like to do is

*

*identify the column (per row observation) that contains a string that exists within a pre-made list of words.

*With this information, create a new variable in this dataframe that contains the value in the column that matched with the list. (In this example, "lst" is my list of words)

For example: Starting Dataframe:

And I would like to end up with this:

New_var is the new variable, and it selected the response in col1 of observation 1 because the "apple" in apple sauce matched with the "apple" in the list. Big oranges would appear for Observation 2 because it matched with "oranges" from the list.
I have tried doing this with list comprehension from this link:
List Comprehension, but remain unsuccessful. I wish to do this in python. Any suggestions? I am relatively new to this programming language.
Thank you very much. If I have posted inappropriately or the answer exists somewhere I have not found it, I appreciate any guidance in the right direction.

A: Let's take the list of words and data frame as you have mentioned
lst = ['a','m','n','o','p']

df = pd.DataFrame({'Observation': [1], 'col1': ['ab'], 'col2': ['dc'], 'col3': ['ef'], 'col4': ['yz']})
df
   Observation  col1    col2    col3    col4
  0    1         ab      dc      ef      yz

Check whether values of data frame match with values in the list
df['New_var'] = [x for x in df.values[0] if any(b for b in lst if b in str(x))]
df
   Observation  col1    col2    col3    col4    New_var
  0        1     ab      dc      ef      yz       ab

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Our Grafton school, located at 53 N. Main St. in N. Grafton, services Grafton, Millbury, Northbridge, Sutton, and Whitinsville. Our Grafton school picks up at the following schools: Grafton High, Millbury High, Sutton High, Blackstone Valley Tech, Nipmuc Regional, Northbridge High and Whitinsville Christian.
The Shrewsbury school, located at 415 Boston Turnpike in Shrewsbury, services Northborough, Shrewsbury, Westborough, and Zip Code 01604 in Worcester. Our Shrewsbury school picks up at the following schools: Algonquin Regional, Holy Name Central Catholic, North High, Shrewsbury High, St. John's, Westborough High, Worcester Academy and Worcester Vocational.
Please note: If you live in a different area than where you go to school, you cannot get picked up at school and dropped off at home. An example of this is living in Grafton and going to St. John's. You must pick which location you want to do your lessons from.
Our Goal is to provide our students with a quality Driving Education by giving them the tools to be confident, competent drivers. We will expose them to challenges like construction zones, highway and city driving, Worcester's famous Kelly Square, and all the things we know they will have to contend with on their own once they get their license. We focus our attention on those aspects of driving many parents fear due to safety issues.
Safety is our number one priority. Our cars have dual brakes allowing us to teach your teens how to drive in situations you may avoid, in a calm, supportive, and controlled enviroment. We use Kia Fortes which have a 5-STAR crash rating.
The owner is not only involved in the day to day operations but also instructs in the classroom and on the road.
We pride ourselves in our students feeling comfortable with the same car and/or instructor if desired. Excellent customer service is important to us. Please make us aware of any preferences to ensure a wonderful learning experience with Smart Start Driving School.
We understand in many families both parents work. This can make it difficult to drop-off and pick-up their teen at a specific location for their on-road lessons. One way we differ from other schools is that we pick-up and drop-off at school, home, or work for their on-road lessons even after the schools release time. Other schools pick-up and drop-off at a specific location, example: the town hall, making the parents do the running around.
We don't set mileage limits for our on-road lessons like some other schools. Keeping their cars to have low mileage to us means they must stay in neighborhoods or parking lots. Students are not going to be defensive drivers learning like that. For our on-road lessons we use a checklist to make sure every aspect of driver's ed is completed with each student.
On-road lessons are available Monday 2:00pm - 6:00pm, Tuesday through Thursday 11:00am - 7:00pm, Friday 11:00am - 6:00pm, and Saturday 9:00am - 6:00pm.
We do a weekend road exam once a month at our Shrewsbury location so students don't have to miss school for a weekday road exam at the RMV. We use the same cars on the warm-up and test so the students feel comfortable on their test date.
It is tough knowing what to give today's teenagers. The newest gadgets are likely already in their hands or out of our budget. However, we have a wonderful gift idea. Driving Lesson Gift Certificates in any denominations.
What a great idea for grandparents and family members to give the teenager who seems to have everything. Call our office today and we'll help you with your Birthday or Christmas shopping list!


Your head and heart are working in concert today, Aries. Things are coming together just as you expected them to. Have confidence in yourself. More than likely, you have the perfect solution to every situation. Maybe your incredible perception of the circumstances will catch someone off guard. Be prepared for some surprised reactions.
Get in touch with your vulnerable side today, Taurus. Don't pretend to be someone you're not. Realize that you can be yourself and still have a good time without needing to hog all the attention. Stabilize your mind and create space to grow. Take some of the advice that you give to others and apply it to yourself.
This is your day, Gemini, so don't let anyone take it away from you. The key will be to get a head start on whatever goals you wish to accomplish. Don't waste time thinking about exactly how you're going to accomplish them. Just get started. The first step is the most important. You're grounded right now, helping you get a better handle on what it is you need to do.
Open up and reveal more of your sensitive side, Cancer. The more willing you are to share with others, the more they will feel comfortable sharing things with you. Your head and heart are in agreement, so use this to your advantage. Ground your mind and use it to take a rational approach to your feelings. The truth of the situation will become clear.
Things should go well for you today as long as you can keep the drama to a minimum. You can jump over any hurdle in your way, so don't worry about a thing. You have a sharp, intuitive wit about you that's grounded in the real world. Take care of the details and plan your next big move. Clean, organize, and throw away things that no longer serve you.
You may have to bring yourself down to ground level in a rather sobering fashion, Virgo. Maybe you're forgetting an important piece of a goal that you've been shooting for. This is a good day to review your progress and deal with any details that require attention. Keep your adventurous spirit alive, but have at least one foot on solid ground.
You have a tremendous ability to understand the inner workings of any situation, Libra. You may need to give someone a reality check to make sure they're on the same page as you. Use your criticism constructively so you don't alienate yourself from the people. Help to fill in the blanks in a situation that isn't fully understood by all parties, and move the project to the next level.
Don't say anything about someone behind his or her back that you wouldn't want to say if the person were standing right next to you, Scorpio. Feelings are easily hurt on a day like this. People will instinctively know that you've been saying negative things about them. Come clean with any confessions that you might need to make toward someone you love. Be honest and open with your feelings.
When it comes to decisions, Sagittarius, do what's best for you today. Don't feel like you need to perform certain tasks just because of guilt over a past situation. Do things because you want to, not because you feel obligated to someone else. The only obligation you have is to you. If it's truly your desire to help someone out, then go for it, but don't sacrifice too much of yourself in the process.
It's time to settle down from the rapid-fire activities of the past few days and retreat to a quieter state of mind, Capricorn. Take care of the details you failed to attend to while you were out having fun. Now is the time to turn inward and reflect. Rely on your inner reserves as opposed to your outwardly directed actions. Stay grounded and let your emotions work with your rational side.
This is an excellent day in which your thinking is clear and your emotions stable, Aquarius. Use this powerful combination of a solid frame of mind and compassionate feelings to express yourself in a sincere, positive fashion. There's a great deal of power on your side helping you track down your goals and get exactly what you want.
Turn your energy inward today, Pisces. Make a detailed list of what you need to get done in order of priority. It's time to take inventory and get organized. Detail-oriented projects are favored, and you have much more patience and concentration than usual. Slow down the pace and remember to smell the roses as you pass by.


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Q: Add props as an HTML attribute in a React.js component I recently started using Next.js and Tailwindcss. I want to create a custom component that can be used as follows -
<CustomComponent> Hello World </CustomComponent>

While searching for how to use this, I came across an answer which said -
const CustomComponent = props => {
  return (
    <>

    </>
  )
}

In my example, the CustomComponent will simple make the text-color to a shade of red.
I can now use this component as <CustomComponent> Hello World </CustomComponent>.
What I don't understand is this line -
. I couldn't find anything like this in the reactjs docs.
Is this an appropriate way of passing props as HTML attributes? How does it work?

A: Here are equivalent components:
const CustomComponent = (props) => {
  return
;
};

// props={prop1,prop2,className}
const CustomComponent = ({ ...props }) => {
  return
;
};

const CustomComponent = ({ prop1, prop2, className }) => {
  // className will be overridden if its valid
  return
;
};

Note that better to use spread syntax (for object literals) after the inline style (className) which makes it more generic.
As for why spreading the property is a valid syntax?
You have a Spread Attributes explained in the docs, remember that JSX is converted to React.createElement which accepts the props as an argument.

*

*JSX In Depth


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Documentary film explores significance of Aboriginal entrepreneurship in Victoria during colonial times
Two film makers are exploring the vital role Aboriginal transport played in the Victorian economy. Seeing the Land from an Aboriginal Canoe is a documentary film which explores the significant contribution of the stringybark canoe. The filmmakers were inspired by historian, Dr David 'Fred' Cahir, who specialises in forgotten Indigenous history. They were particularly drawn to his research into the stringybark canoe and its role in Victoria's waterways. In the film, Dr Cahir said most Aboriginal history was about violence and massacres, and not the Aboriginal contribution. [node:read-more:link]
Land Sea and Water
Scientists: Kimberley First Nations paintings could be the oldest in the world
Archaeologists and Aboriginal elders are hoping the most comprehensive study of rock art in the Kimberley region will confirm the images are among the oldest made by humans anywhere in the world. More than a dozen scientists took part in two field trips to study remote faces on Dambimangari and Balanggarra country. They used pioneering techniques to collect and analyse hundreds of samples to narrow down the timeframes in which the striking images of people, animals and shells were made. Professor Peter Veth, from the University of Western Australia, said they were expecting to have the first results through by the end of the year. [node:read-more:link]
First Nations Stories of Ancient Sea-Level Rise Preserved for 13,000 Years
Aboriginal Memories of Inundation of Coast Dating over 7000 Yrs (pdf)
Patrick D. Nunn & Nicholas J. Reid
According to a duo of Australian scientists, Aboriginal society has preserved memories of Australia's coastline dating back to 11,000 – 5,300 BC.
Archives September 2015
Thousands of Aboriginal artefacts uncovered near Maitland, New South Wales
Work on the Chichester Trunk Gravity Main has led to around 3,000 Aboriginal artefacts being uncovered at Tarro, near Maitland, New South Wales.
(Image source: ABC News Pic: Hunter Water)
First Nations fire methods could slash global emissions: UN report
Ancient Indigenous Australian bush-burning could be used around the world to radically cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to United Nations research, which also challenges Prime Minister Tony Abbott's refusal to embrace the purchase of international carbon credits. Abbott has previously said buying overseas offsets sends money "offshore into dodgy carbon farms in Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan".
The government this month delayed considering the measure until 2017 or later, saying it would rather make cuts domestically. [node:read-more:link]


Jenny Eastwood - Colour Expert!
Jenny is an expert in everything colour related and specialises in colour correction and major colour changes all while maintaining the hair in optimum condition for our clients.
Highlight of the year just been?
Partying with King Princess after her concert in November last year!
What exciting plans do you have in store for 2019?
I've had a lot of big changes in my life recently so I'm hoping to go on some overseas adventures and finally visit Europe.
I've been doing so many rose golds lately and I am here for it! So nice to see our clients changing it up from the usual ashy blonde and trying something a little bolder.
Best Hair hack for 2019?
Perms are back in a big way, but not as you'd typically know them. A loose, beachy perm is such a great way to give body and style to flat, lifeless hair. I have just recently had one myself and it's a game changer!
Older PostCharlie Cameron, Senior Colourist - Amazing balayage and colour expert!


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Author JD Nelson
Contemporary & Erotic Romance
Havenwood Falls
Signed Paperback Sale!
Reading Order and Release Date Information
Havenwood Falls Sin & Silk - Volume Three
Three steamy paranormal romance novellas (Books 7-9) in this multi-author series showcasing the darker, edgier, and sexier side of Havenwood Falls.
Dark Seduction by Michele G. Miller & R.K. Ryals
Tied since birth to a darkness that longs to break free, spiritual psychic Harper Sinclair fights a never-ending battle with demonic spirits. Her only relief comes from the fallen angel for whom she's long ignored deep feelings. Elias Jamison lost his place in Heaven when he chose his friends over his creator. He fell, but he is not lost. For centuries, Elias maintained his innate goodness, fought against evil, and protected those in need—except for one. Grief-stricken, Elias pushed his loss aside for over a hundred years, but the deeper his feelings grow for Harper Sinclair, the deeper old guilt digs in.
Soul Laid Bare by JD Nelson
The story of Mavis and Cameron's romance and fight to be together continues in this sequel to Plans Laid Bare
Mavis LeGrand is content in the mountains of Colorado with her incubus fiancé, Cameron, and things seem to be going well, but she knows behind the picturesque town and smiling faces, an evil lurks. She throws herself into finding a way to get Cameron's soul back from her soon-to-be father-in-law. But with a strong feeling of malice lingering over the town like a dense fog, Mavis can sense that she'll soon be in for a fight. Evil has no place in Havenwood Falls, and she'll be damned if she lets anyone or anything hurt the town or the ones she loves.
Stray With Me by E.J. Fechenda
As a descendant of a founding family of Havenwood Falls and granddaughter of their coven's high priestess, Harlow Augustine's been raised to adhere to certain expectations. Dating a biker is the exact opposite of those. At first, it's an act of rebellion. Ryker Pride is like a forbidden fruit. Where she has deep roots in town and a big family, Ryker is an orphan lion shifter who grew up on the streets. His family is the SIN MC—"thugs and outlaws," according to her grandmother. When tragedy strikes, Harlow makes a rash decision and quickly learns that her magic has deadly consequences.
Welcome to the darker, sexier side of Havenwood Falls that many residents never speak of publicly, but most likely enjoy in secret. Venture into the SIN MC, the VIP rooms of Silk nightclub, and behind other closed doors, where you'll discover passion, unusual penchants, and just how far some will go for love. Hold on to your panties, because it's time to ride.
These are stand-alone steamy paranormal romances in the Havenwood Falls shared world, a collaborative effort by multiple authors across multiple series all in the paranormal fantasy genre. Havenwood Falls allows readers to discover new authors and stories to fall in love with. Each author brings a stand-alone plotline, so they can be read in any order.
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Havenwood-Falls-Sin-Silk-Three-ebook/dp/B084JN1ZKN
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1950455505
Graphic Design by Regina Wamba/Mae I Design
Published by Ang'dora Productions LLC


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Relationship between alcohol consumption and age at menopause: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
We used data from the 2011–2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) to investigate whether the age at menopause is related to alcohol consumption in South Korean women.
This was a cross-sectional study of the data for 940 women who became menopausal within the 3 years preceding the KNHANES.
The numbers of nondrinkers, mild to moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers in this group were 345 (34.7%), 573 (62.2%), and 22 (3%). Body mass index (BMI), smoking, and exercise were adjusted in model 1 and age was additionally adjusted in model 2. The mean ages at menopause were 51.6 ± 0.2, 50.8 ± 0.1, and 50.4 ± 0.5 years (p = 0.0025) in model 1 and 51.7 ± 0.2, 51.1 ± 0.1, and 50.1 ± 0.5 years (p = 0.0018) in model 2 for nondrinkers, mild to moderate drinkers, and heavy drinkers, respectively. BMI, smoking, exercise, educational level, income, duration of menopause, age at menarche, age at first delivery, and gravidity were adjusted in model 3, and the respective mean ages at menopause were 51.3 ± 0.2, 50.7 ± 0.2, and 50.1 ± 0.8 years (p = 0.0402). The population was classified into groups using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores of <5 (n = 778), <10 (n = 108), and ≥10 score (n = 54). The mean ages at menopause according to AUDIT score were 51.3 ± 0.1, 50.5 ± 0.3, and 50.4 ± 0.4 years (p = 0.0222, model 1), 51.4 ± 0.1, 50.8 ± 0.3, and 50.8 ± 0.3 years (p = 0.0261, model 2), and 51.1 ± 0.1, 50.6 ± 0.4, and 49.5 ± 0.6 years (p = 0.0241, model 3) respectively.
In Korean women, alcohol consumption was associated with younger age at menopause. A higher AUDIT score was also related to younger age at menopause.


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Author Archives: Andy Purvis
Posted in Storytime with Uncle Andy.	| Leave a reply
There were three days until Christmas: By Andy Purvis
Posted on December 21, 2015 by Andy Purvis
There were three days until Christmas, at Sportsradio,
The best sports show in Corpus was all set to go.
The microphones were all live and the sound was turned up,
The Lone Ranger music was about to erupt.
Sliding Bill Doerner was ready, all snug in his chair.
He waits until 6 to put us on air.
With his finger he points and that's when I say.
Welcome to Dennis & Andy's Q & A.
I introduce my partner, whose name's Dennis Quinn
He gives me a nickname as our show starts to begin.
I'm usually pretty good at getting it right,
He tries his hardest to stump me with all of his might.
Dennis has a broad face and a round little belly
That shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly
I'm chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laugh when I see him in spite of myself.
Sports is our passion, we don't make this stuff up.
We ask trivia questions and the answers are tough.
884 1230 is the number to call,
Pick up the phone and join in, we are having a ball.
We line up interviews for all of our fans,
George Springer, Dan McReynolds, Gabe Lucido with a tan.
We talk Minor League pitching with Orioles Mark Blackmar,
And learn from Bob Doty about racing and NASCAR.
We've interviewed many this year including Carlos Correa.
We also talked football with FOX NFL official Mike Periera.
Mike Trout, Adam Jones, andMiloHamilton,
Are just some of the stars with whom we've had fun?
Red Sox stars Dustin Pedoria and Big Papi Ortiz
When joining the "Session" they all say their piece.
J.R. Richards,DallasKeuchel, Larry Dierker and Ken Schrom
Share funny stories while droping some bombs.
Reid Ryan of the Astros and Brad Horn from theHOF
Say nice things about us and call us by name.
We laugh and have fun and sing once in awhile,
While covering the "old school" stuff with a smile.
Shane Nelson, Juan Castillo, they gave us their time.
Jose Altuve, Joc Pederson and Cliff Pennington were kind.
With Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Craig Biggio,
The hour flies by, we don't know where it goes.
We say Merry Christmas to each of our fans.
We thank the Caller Times for giving us a hand.
We enjoy all our listeners and ask them to call.
Give us your "take," you could be right after all.
As we sign off, with our Pal Jackie Gleason,
We want you to understand, that you are our reason,
We come on each week and talk about the sports biz.
And we always end our show with "How Sweet it is."
So thank youCorpus Christifor listening to our show
You've helped us celebrate 20 years in a row.
We pray that all in your family remain happy and bright
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.
Posted on November 16, 2015 by Andy Purvis
On November 7, 1990, the Negro League Basebal lMuseum, located in Kansas City, Missouri, was created by a group of former Negro League players in a one-room office space that contained a round table and six chairs. In two of those chairs sat Buck O'Neil and Slick Surratt. The story goes; that they took turns paying the monthly rent to keep their dream alive. This office space was part of the Lincoln Building, which is located at the Historic 18th and Vine Street, in the Jazz District.
To be clear, this building is not a Hall of Fame. It is important to the Museum that they are not referred to as such. The Negro League Baseball Museum (NLBM) was conceived as a museum to tell the complete story of Negro League baseball. They do not hold any special induction ceremonies for honorees. They believe that the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown,New York, is the proper place for recognition of baseball's greatest players. However, they do give special recognition with their exhibits, to those Negro League players who have been honored in Cooperstown. In 1994, this group was able to expand into a 2,000 square-foot space. They hung photographs and built interactive displays, and a number of film exhibits were added, all commemorating the history of Negro League baseball. With the help of the city, a new 50,000 square-foot building opened in September of 1997, and theBaseballMuseummoved into their new space of 10,000 square feet. They opened their doors in November of that same year. Twelve bronze sculptures and many artifacts are now on display.
During the 1870s-1880s, over 50 African-Americans had played in leagues with white players. In 1884, Moses Fleetwood Walker, a catcher, became the first Negro to reach the Major Leagues, with the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association. White pitchers refused to accept signs from a Negro catcher. By 1887, all the ownership of white teams entered into an agreement that refused to sign anymore African-American players. It would be 60 years before another black player joined the Major Leagues. His name was Jackie Robinson.
In 1920, Andrew "Rube" Foster, a former player, manager and owner of the Chicago American Giants put in place the organized baseball group that would become known as the Negro Leagues. Twenty-two different teams made up the Negro Leagues from 1920 until 1962. Some of the more famous include: the Birmingham Black Barons, Chicago American Giants, Indianapolis Clowns, Baltimore Elite Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, Newark Eagles, New York Black Yankees, Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Memphis Red Sox.
In 1945, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs. He became the first African-American in the modern era to play on a Major League team. Jackie would make his Major League debut in 1947. Unfortunately this event, while historic in civil rights history, eventually spelled the end of the Negro Leagues, as many fine Negro League players joined the Major League ranks and their fans followed suit. Some of those names are well known such as Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Roy Campanella, "Satchel" Paige, Ray Dandridge, "Junior" Gilliam, Luke Easter, Hank Thompson, "Minnie" Minoso, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron and Don Newcombe.
From 1920 through 1962, the end of the Negro League era, more than 2,500 men and, yes, women contributed to the Negro League games as players, coaches, managers and executives. It is estimated that approximately 120 former Negro League players are still living. Most of them played at the tail end of the era. For them, this museum has definitely been a race against time.
As of this writing, there have been 35 former Negro League players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Not all of them played in the Major Leagues, but they were honored for their contributions to the Negro Leagues. Many of them were WWII veterans.
As for me, I have been blessed to meet Buck O'Neil on two different occasions and also Slick Surratt. They were together inHoustonduring the 2005 World Series and were the speakers for the Negro League traveling museum. I wrote about both of them in my Greatness Series books.
So, on Saturday, November 7, 2015, it was fitting that the NegroLeagueMuseumcelebrated its 25th anniversary. Attending the celebration were stars like Hank Aaron, Dave Winfield, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, "Fergie" Jenkins and many more. Current curator, Bob Kendrick, was pleased. Next time you're inKansas City, check it out.
www.purvisbooks.com
I Should Have Taken Up Golf
Posted on October 31, 2015 by Andy Purvis
Yes, I played a bit of football in my time. I am reminded every morning when I roll out of bed. My joints, ligaments and tendons serenade the early light with "Snap, crackle and pop." I did enjoy the game of football, but I had no idea that my body would pay for the pleasure for the rest of my life. I should have taken up golf. Then the worst thing that could have happened to me was hitting my ball out of bounds. Golf is a game where a "late hit" means a slice, not a separated shoulder. The game is played at a walk, and no one ever sweats. A "bad lie" is a ball buried in the sand, not a pile up at the goal line against Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears. A "career-ending play" is scoring a 6 on a par 3. The most terrifying thing a golfer ever sees is a twenty-foot downhill putt. You never hear words like blitz, cover two, or spearing. The word "rough" refers to tall grass, not J.J. Watt. You don't have to stand in a pocket, nor do you need a cut man on the sideline. Canes and wheelchairs are off limits on the golf course, because most likely you will never need a knee operation. You don't have to block anybody while playing a round, and you get to keep your teeth. Missing the "cut" in golf refers to their score when it is not in the low 60's, not stitches.
You never see a golfer with a mark on him. His nose isn't bleeding, his eyes are clear, and you can understand him when he speaks. Golfers don't need crutches, and no one has ever seen Tiger Woods carried off the golf course on a stretcher. I could have traded a torn meniscus and sprained ankles for playing golf until I'm 60. The playing surface in golf is soft and beautiful, and the holes are guarded by trees that you can hit over or sand traps that you can go around; the holes are not guarded by guys named Mike Singleterry or Lawrence Taylor. The toughest part of a round of golf may be taking off one of your shoes to play your ball out of a water hazard. These guys make millions of dollars without bruising a rib or sustaining a concussion, and it's hard to fracture your thumb on a six iron. Heck, there's no heavy breathing, no heavy lifting; and a guy carries their clubs for them. They can make 1.2 million on a weekend, and they don't have to knock down linebacker Ray Lewis. I've never seen a disabled list in professional golf.
Playing golf is like finding money. Jordan Spieth is never going to be able to tell if it's going to rain by the feeling he gets in his knees, yet Tony Romo gets headaches for a living. These guys go through life with a sun tan, wearing the best fashioned clothes, laid out for them by style coordinators. When they finish a tournament, they don't have to soak in a tub of ice or inflate a collapsed lung or get their blood to clot. Yet, people are in awe of them because they once shot a 66 at The Masters.
Golfers are the luckiest guys in sports. I should have taken up golf.
He always made fun of himself so you didn't have to. "Some guys smoke, some guys drink, some guys chase women. I'm a big barbecue-sauce guy," he once said. He was tall, mostly bald, loved white sweaters, hated ties, and was funny beyond words; the things he said, it was like he had swallowed Don Rickles. He could pass forJohnPinette in sneakers or Louie Anderson with a whistle around his neck. People did make fun of him for not being in shape; he thought round was a shape. He also thought pancake syrup was a beverage and candy corn a vegetable. He was a big, heavy-set guy; when he got his shoes shined, he had to take the guy's word for it. He was once asked, "How do you plan to stop the Kentucky Wildcats?" in a 1996 NCAA Basketball Tournament match-up. "Food poisoning!" answered Utah Head Basketball Coach, Rick Majerus. When asked about the difference in talent between his team andKentucky, he responded, "They have all those McDonald's Basketball All-Americans. We have four guys on our team who don't even have a McDonald's in their hometown." Rick Majerus was a riot and a fine basketball coach.
Posted on October 7, 2015 by Andy Purvis
The parent, who buys their child a football, a pair of shoulder pads or a helmet should have to see a psychiatrist. Golfers are the luckiest guys in sports. I should have taken up golf.
Posted on September 29, 2015 by Andy Purvis
By 1967, Mickey Mantle was the only reason left to go to a Yankee game. He had fulfilled his promise to his wife, Merlyn, and hit his 500th home run on Mother's Day. After the game, Mantle took the time to thank the Yankees winning pitcher that day, Dooly Womack, for allowing him a chance to celebrate. By now, Mantle had also conceded to himself and his close friends that he would never be able to catch Willie Mays statistically.
In 1968, Mantle felt lost. He could no longer hit or run like he used to. His body was breaking down. "Who are these guys?" Mantle was quoted as saying, after looking around at his new teammates. Tony Kubek and Phil Linz had left the team by 1965; Roger Maris and Bobby Richardson were gone by 1966. Elston Howard was traded in the middle of 1967; Yogi Berra was gone; and Whitey Ford was now the pitching coach for the Bombers. On May 30, 1968, Mantle was his old self again. He went 5-for-5 for the third time in his career with two home runs, a double, two singles and five RBI's, and scored three runs. Washington Senators' first baseman Frank Howard said, "I've never seen five balls hit so hard." It was Mickey's finest game since his Triple Crown season of 1956. On June 29th, Mantle hit his 529th home run. On July 27th of that season, he fell below the .300 lifetime batting average. He went 0 for 12 in three straight games and knew he would never be able to return to .300. He was ashamed and said he was going to quit. Five days later, he was thrown out of a game for cursing an umpire; it was the seventh time in 18 years. Six weeks later, on August 10th, he hit his 530th and 531st against the Minnesota Twins. On August 22nd, he tied Jimmy Foxx for third place of all time, with home run number 534.
On September 17th, the Tigers beat the Yankees in Detroit and clinched the 1968 American League pennant. The following day was a rainout. So, on the afternoon of September 19, 1968, Denny McLain was scheduled to pitch. McLain had already posted 30 wins, becoming the first pitcher since Dizzy Dean to accomplish that feat. When Mantle came to the plate in the eighth inning, the fans gave him a standing ovation. Even the Tiger players stood on the top step of the dugout andapplauded. Everyone was a Mantle fan. Mantle was McLain's hero, the reason he had become a switch-hitter when he was in high school.
No one knew what McLain was about to do. Denny called "time" and called his catcher Jim Price out to the mound. McLain said, "Listen, he only needs one more home run to beat Foxx. Let's give him a shot at it. You just go behind home plate, put your glove up, and let me see if I can hit it." Price understood; Mickey was his hero, too. Price returned and got down in his crouch and gave Mickey a look. McLain threw him a batting practice fastball. "It was like 50 mph with an arc on it," said McLain. "And the dummy takes it for a strike." Mantle now looks down at Price and says, "What was that?" Price responded, "I don't know." Mantle says, "Is he gonna' do it again?" Price said, "I don't know." Price now gets up and calls time again, and starts towards the mound and McLain yells for all to hear, "Just tell him to be ready." McLain continues, "I throw the next pitch and Mantle fouls it off and I'm thinking, oh man, now I've got him 0 and 2. I'm tired of messing around; I'm just going to strike him out."
McLain is now beside himself and he yells, "Where the hell do you want it?" Mantle points with his bat. "I throw one more pitch and he hits a line drive into the right field stands for home run number 535. We all had tears in our eyes, because Mickey represented baseball in the fifties and sixties," said Denny. As Mick goes by first base, Norm Cash hits him on the rear with his glove. "Nice going" and "Congratulations" are heard as he passes second and short. As Mickey gets to third, he starts yelling "Thank you" to McLain. "Thank you, thank you, I owe you one," screams Mantle. McLain says, "Mickey that's enough." McLain is thinking he is going to hear from the commissioner if Mantle keeps this up.
As Mantle steps on home plate the crowd erupts and they are now standing again. Joe Pepitone shakes his hand. The Tigers are up again and the fans will not stop cheering; so Mickey comes out of the dugout for a curtain call and decides to head towards the mound. "I almost wet my pants as he started toward me. I just did not want him to get to the mound," says McLain. Mickey finally sat back down. But that's not the end of the story.
Joe Pepitone steps into the batter's box and motions where he wants his pitch, then McLain throws a 90 mph fastball right at his head and down goes Pepitone out of the way. "When I got up," said Pepitone, "I looked over in the dugout and Mantle has got both of his hands over his mouth laughing his butt off."
McLain was right and he did receive a letter from the commissioner that said he was taking the integrity of the game in his own hands. McLain denied he intentionally threw a gofer ball to Mantle. Famous baseball writer Red Smith had the last word when he wrote, "When a guy has bought 534 drinks in the same saloon, he entitled to one on the house." After the game, Mantle autographed the home run ball for McLain. He wrote, "Denny, thanks for one of the great moments in my entire career, Mickey." In 1978, a fire took McLain's home along with the baseball. Mickey signed another ball for him. "Until the day he died, he kept thanking me," said McLain.
Mantle hit an uneventful home run number 536 the next day at Yankee Stadium off of Jim Lonborg of the Red Sox. He played his last game five days later onSeptember 25, 1968, and recorded one single off Luis Tiant of the Cleveland Indians. I still miss Mickey.
Evidently
CBS football announcer, Tom Brookshire is remembered for one of the most-famous Super-Bowl interviews. The 1972 Super Bowl ended with a 24-3 win by the Dallas Cowboys over the Miami Dolphins. Tom Brookshire proceeded to interview star running back, Duane Thomas, of the Cowboys. Thomas had not spoken to the media the entire week leading up to the big game; yet based on his performance, he was voted the game's Most Valuable Player. Brookshire spent several minutes praising Thomas about his performance during the game and marveling at Duane's speed and quickness. Finally, Brookshire asked Thomas his first question, "Are you that fast?" Thomas answered, "Evidently." Dead air followed as Brookshire stood stunned by the one-word answer. It may have been the shortest interview ever seen or heard on sports television.
There Was Magic in His Voice
"He's sitting on 714." Most baseball fans believe it's one of the top five calls of all-time. These two guys are forever joined in baseball lore by less than forty words, spoken into microphone one early evening on April 8, 1974, by Braves broadcaster Milo Hamilton, forty-one years ago. It was the first game of the new season. The Atlanta Braves were at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here's how the call sounded as Henry Aaron settled into the batter's box.
"He's sitting on 714! Here's the pitch by Downing, swinging, there's a drive into left centerfield, that ball is gonna beee…OUTTA HERE! IT'S GONE! IT'S 715! There's a new home run champion of all-time and it's HENRY AARON!"
It was "pure" Milo Hamilton. For some of us, baseball is life. I still wonder about the places he's been, the players he's interviewed and the scores of fans he's entertained. For most of us, he's Uncle Milo. He was family; he came into our homes 162 times a year, until these last couple of years. I even listened to his call when I was at the Astros game. He always stirred my imagination. One of the secrets of baseball is that you play almost every day. Therefore redemption was only hours away. Miloused the game to help people discover themselves. They could use those discoveries to confront anything in their life. Baseball is a teacher; it reveals your heart and soul and the game is designed to reveal it to you.
There will never be another like him as far as I'm concerned; I love the old man. As he got older, he began to look tired, frail, and almost sickly until he found his way into the announcer booth or onto the field of play. It was like flipping a switch. A microphone made his eyes light up like lanterns. The game simply turned him on. Milocould sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and make you laugh. He walked every day into his radio booth intoxicated by the promise of that day's game. He didn't like being surprised; he studied and saved his information in a satchel that may have been as old as him. He loved baseball so much; even his computer wore batting gloves. No one wanted to talk to Milo Hamilton about another announcer or player; they wanted to talk about Milo Hamilton. The longer an announcer stays with the same team the more the fans identify with that team. Fathers, sons, and sons of sons, we all become a part of his history.
His educated eyes could fill books with the magic of the grand old game. Most of us know about his calls of eleven no-hitters, the grand slams, and historic home runs. For sixty-seven years, he opened his scorecard and charted baseball history. He taught us how to figure batting averages, told us how players got their nicknames and why. He described routine double-plays, the importance of a bunt single, why stealing third increases the chances of scoring by nine, and the reason so many players strike out looking. He taught us about Uncle Charlie, twin killings, chin music, and frozen ropes. Seeing-Eye singles, right down Kirby and "Holy Toledo, what a play!" became his signature calls. Every play reminded him of days gone by, when only the player, the city, and the circumstances were different. I would love to see through his eyes, if only for a moment. Listening to him call a game made me feel like a hundred dollar bill in a two dollar wallet. Writer Phil Hirsh once wrote, "Baseball is the only game you can see on the radio." Milomade it easy for all of us. His canyon deep voice was unmistakable. He was always "in" the game. You could never tell by his tone of voice whether his team was behind or ahead. Everybody wanted to be connected, to be a part of him. Let's call that a professional.
Baseball looks so easy to play from your seat. It is, in fact, the hardest of them all. The game moves at a pace where a grandfather can talk about what's happening on the field with his grandson. They see and experience virtually the same game. Milotaught me how to score a game, what to look for, how to anticipate a great play. He gave us a history lesson every night and allowed us to dream about what it would be like to play Major League baseball. All words seemed better to me when spoken by Milo Hamilton.
What you saw was what you got withMilo. Not many of us find our true place in life; that does not hold true for Milo Hamilton. I can't imagine him doing anything else. Milohas been a part of the Dennis & Andy's Q & A Session radio show for almost twenty years. Three times every year he joined us on the air, live fromHouston,Texas. My partner Dennis Quinn always referred to our interviews as "Milounplugged." On two different occasions, we took our show on the road toMinuteMaidPark, andMilowas nice enough to join us there, in the booth, talking baseball. We talked old school baseball; from "Stan the Man" and "Hammerin' Hank" to "The Ryan Express." We covered everything from the disappearance of the hook slide to the tragedy of steroids and everything in between. There is never a time I did not learn something. It has been said that the greatest classroom often lies at the feet of the elderly. How true.
Milowas inducted into the Broadcast Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2000. He has been an announcer for 67 years. His first job in Major League baseball started in 1953, with the St. Louis Browns. He has also announced for six other Major League clubs.
There were several times when Milo visitedCorpus Christi; the Hooks would set aside a suite forMiloand he always asked us to join him. The conversation was magic as the years of baseball through his eyes came flooding back. It was as close to baseball Heaven as I will ever get. I once told him how much he was loved as I was leaving his company. I think it may have surprised him. He didn't know how to respond, but he smiled. I'm absolutely sure he knows he's loved, but does not hear it enough. We are always moreappreciative of something we had and have now lost.
Milo last visitedCorpus Christi, January 24, 2014, with the Astros caravan. I couldn't wait to see him. When he walked into the room he was surrounded by the TV guys like Custer at the Little Big Horn. We sat and laughed and talked about the call. He and Hank still speak with each other quite often. Milolooked good as he is winning his battle with cancer. I've never met a more giving individual. There will never be another Milo Hamilton.
Milo Hamilton passed away today at 88 years of age. The good lord may have kissed this guy right on the forehead. This is kind of hard for me as this is not the way I wanted to remember him. For me,Milowill never be gone, he's still here, and he'll always here.
This fellow was a fine defensive third baseman with five Gold Gloves to show for his work. He was a wild, eccentric, fun-loving guy who was also a little bit crazy. He received the nickname, the "Red Rooster." In a sport where players routinely make millions of dollars, this guy would arm-wrestle you for twenty dollars. He made Nolan Ryan look kinky. One time when Houston Astros' teammate, Norm Miller, and his wife paid an unannounced visit to Rader's house, Doug answered the door completely naked.
Once while being interviewed for television by Jim Bouton, Doug Rader advised all Little League players to eat their bubble gum cards along with the gum. He said that if they ate the cards and digested the information, they would become better ballplayers. "Bubble-gum cards are very good for a Little Leaguer's diet," said Rader. Another time, Doug said, "They should only eat the cards of the good ballplayers. Say you have a kid whose 5-foot-1 inches tall, tell him to eat a Willie McCovey card. Willie's 6 foot 4. The kid may grow. You never can tell." Rader went on during the interview, "Have them eat the bases and home plate, and they'll play better." Doug Rader played for the Houston Astros from 1967-1975. He recorded his first big league hit in his first at-bat. He became known for his off-field antics around the world. Doug would use the Astros' locker room as a driving range, teeing up a golf ball, while guys were diving for cover in their lockers, behind trunks and under the whirlpool. His teammates prayed they would not get hit, as golf balls ricocheted around the room. Astros' pitcher Larry Dierker, was asked why nobody took Rader's golf clubs away. "'Cause they wanted to live," responded Dierker.
NASCAR Hits the Wall
Better Late Than Never Super Bowl Wrap
Let The Blogging Begin
Andy Purvis on Monday 8-3-2015 on Sportsradio Corpus Christi
Andy Purvis on Crown Royal
Nancy Doerner on Crown Royal
Coming Up On SRCC
Storytime with Uncle Andy.


A musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale (1970). Directed by Ronald Neame, starring Albert Finney and more.
This movie is on Youtube.
Reviewed here and here. Albert Finney won a Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical "
LOVE this movie. My favorite adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," even though it's musical (a genre that I'm normally quite "iffy" about). This movie hits just the right amount of creepy/scary to sentimentality & lightheartedness that a good Christams ghost story should have in my opinion.
Thank You Very Much has got to be the greatest dancing-on-a-grave song ever written.
And the greatest such number ever choreographed. He's dancing on Scrooge's coffin while the funeral procession is in motion; seems like a high degree of difficulty.
Yes that dancing on a coffin by is incredible, by Anton Rodgers... *quick Google search* who starred in a number of other recogniz--- OH MY GOD HE WAS IN THE PRISONER.
This is my favorite adaptation of Scrooge, and who would think it, it's a musical. That's like a high-wire act or something, but they really pull it off, based on the strength of the songs (great lyrics and melodies), coupled with a real sense of play that's missing from other versions of Scrooge.
Witness "Father Christmas" early in the show; it's a great set piece that uses the set to the maximum in the choreography, gets across the message of who Scrooge is and how he's regarded in the community, and also gives us good scallywags-scallywagging-around-making-fun-of-"upstanding"-members-of-the-community. That scratches my subversive itch. They don't like Scrooge but he's too well off to ignore or treat poorly. Sound familiar?
"I hate people" is just straight-up wonderful, and gives vent to the same (taboo) feelings that "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" does. "December 25" is earwormy; the wistful "You... you were everything to me.." song is Xmas nostalgia and gives depth to the entire show. Alec Guiness is wonderful and a bit hammy too (in a good way).
Another thing I really like is they really convey the *cold* in this film - you see breath, you see the snow, creating heat in a house is a big thing, a big, warm, crackling fire connotes luxury and wealth and sociability (the last ghost that appears).
The whole thing is a winner for me.
There was a period where several presentations of Scrooge on broadcast television were re rigueur for the holiday season. You can lose a fast half hour or more running down the players of the principle parts on IMDB, an amazing list of mostly English character actors of the screen and stage. Though Scrooge is one of the more prominent items on most of their resumes (the notable exception besides Finney being of course Alec Guinness in his fabulously funny, strange and creepy turn as Marley's ghost), many had careers extending well back into the 40s.
I have a very special relationship with this story because my father does. He has been re-reading the book every year since he was a teenager. His love for the story, and his passing that on to his sons, compelled me to buy him a 1868 Hurd and Houghton "Globe Edition" complete works set in 1988. In the last decade he's written several hour-long talks about the story, exploring its relationship to scripture and the Catholic Cursillo movement.
All of which is to say, no, the musical version just doesn't do it for me.


text:
Heliconia paludigena is a species of plant in the family Heliconiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador.

References

Flora of Ecuador
paludigena
Vulnerable plants
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


An internal class which implements ParamTypeDefinition.
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Normally, if a parameter value changes, the state which declared that the parameter will be reloaded (entered/exited). When a parameter is dynamic, a transition still occurs, but it does not cause the state to exit/enter.
When a transition is run with TransitionOptions.inherit set to true, the current param values are inherited in the new transition. However, parameters whose type has inherit: false set will not be inherited.
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mode true | false | "auto"
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text:
June 28, 2013 by joshuaon
The Upside Down World of Gustave Verbeek
Gustave Verbeek was a Japanese artist of Dutch extraction who reinvented an American art form. He was published in the bafflingly brilliant New York Herald comics section of the turn of the century, alongside folks like Richard Outcault and Winsor McCay. He was a committed adherent to Nonsense techniques — he liked to set impossible constraints for himself and try to wrestle coherent stories out them. He outpaced the Surrealists by twenty years, and devised his own mind-bending comic strip vernacular out of portmanteau, reversal & esoteric cartoon symbolism.
Take a look at this panel from his UPSIDE DOWNS strip.
A fish, an island, and a man in a canoe. Now flip it upside down…
…and it's a woman being eaten by a bird.
That's how UPSIDE DOWNS works — six panel strips that read sequentially, which then flip upside down to become panels seven through twelve. The formal challenge of not just creating reversible images but creating images that reverse sequentially into a coherent story is absolutely insane.
Verbeek also created THE TERRORS OF THE TINY TADS, in which his bizarre visual games started with text: he created hybridized beasts out of combined words. Hippopotomobiles, hotelephants, pelicanoes and sweet potatoads capered across these charming nightmares.
Gustave Verbeek was a weird, fractured genius who invented a brand new language in which to tell stories and crack jokes. He would have fit right in to the Parisian salons of the 1920s. His work is gorgeously spotlighted in a elegant clothbound edition from Sunday Press.
He was a relic of a golden moment in the early 20th century when uniquely, almost inexplicably idiosyncratic talents could be seen in the pages of international newspapers, dancing gloriously to their own broken metronomes.
– Josh O'Neill
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One thought on "The Upside Down World of Gustave Verbeek"
Mary Arkin | November 4, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Nice to see more articles about upside-down art. Ever ask "who invented Upside-Down Art?" L. R. Emerson II.
Today we are finding artists everywhere mimicking the topsy-turvy style of American Artist L. R. Emerson II who started an international movement involving upside-down, multi-directional art. Emerson is credited with inventing Upside-Down Art.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC describes an ancient form of composition known as Dualism, dating from the Preceramic period (3000–1800 B.C.). Artifacts from this period include early woven textiles decorated with zoomorphic creatures paired in inverted symmetries. In dualism, subtly or clearly expressed in art, opposite doubles and mirror images reflect the ancient heritage of symbolic dualism in the ideologies, world visions, and social structures of Andean people. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dual/hd_dual.htm
Please visit http://www.upside-down-art.com to see the world's most unusual art, from internationally known American artist L. R. Emerson II.
Emerson is the leading artist of the Upside-Down Artist movement having produced thirty years of artmaking success and documented invention regarding multi-directional design and compositional arrangement.
In a recent interview Emerson responded to questions about process versus product saying:
"Thirty years of working as an upside-down artist, arranging subjects every which way has embedded a formula for composition firmly into my internal, visual psyche. I'm frankly unable to work in a traditional right-side up manner. Stored in my mind thousands, memory holds thousands of my works, – artworks comprised with every unconventional combination of compositional structure yet I believe I still have not even scratched the surface. Whereas there's a genital form of flattery in the fact of other artists copying my style, at the same interval I keep moving forward, seldom showing my latest discovery."
Emerson 2013
Due to Emerson's published research and exploration Art Education texts are having to be re-written to include Emerson's compositional variant; upside-down, multi-directional composition has been validated and stands alone as a worthy from of composing subjects.
Emerson's work has been presented to more than 500 galleries in the U.S.A. and to over 50 major museums across the planet.
His pioneering effort, enduring over three decades to break the glass ceiling of conventional composition sets L. R. Emerson II apart from followers of the Upside-Down movement.
L. R. Emerson II may very well be the Thomas Edison of artmaking. More information documenting Emerson's thirty-five unique methods for creating upside down art can be found in the book The Purple Tree; Art in a Boundless Age, 2009. Included in the text are examples of upside-down painting, upside-down drawing methods and more dating back to 1983.
Mary Arkin


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FILM DAYS FOR STATE SCHOOLS
In recent years, on the days running up to the festival, (S8) has included film days in its programme for publicly-run schools with the aim of expanding the festival's scope, bolstering its commitment to training and creation among new audiences.
In May 2022, the Domus-Casa del Hombre museum in A Coruña hosted several special programmes for state schools in different cities in Galicia. There was a series of screenings for girls and boys between the ages of 10 and 16 made up of four sessions in the original version, presenting films with themes ranging from social issues to caring for the environment, while also showing works with an experimental narrative. Through these films, some of them told from the perspective of the very same children appearing in them, young viewers are given the opportunity to see the reality of their peers in other countries and contexts, and to learn about other languages of cinema.
This year, these days have seen participation from the following schools: IES Urbano Lugrís, IES Ramón Otero Pedrayo, CEIP Concepción Arenal, CEIP Sanjurjo de Carricarte , IES Ramón Menéndez Pidal and IES Eusebio da Guarda.