text:
Q: What is different between field and finite field? I know maybe my question is off-topic and I'm sorry about that.
I recently fell into group theory and I confused with exact definition of field.
My teacher says:

$Z_{x}$ is a field if and only if $x$ is a prime power such as $p^n$
where $p$ is prime and $n$ is a positive Integer.

according to this sentence we can conclude $Z_{4}$ is a field too, but I believe it shouldn't be a field because it doesn't satisfy the inverse multiplication property.
some websites such as Wikipedia indicates:

The number of elements of a finite field is called its order or,
sometimes, its size. A finite field of order $q$ exists if and only if
the order $q$ is a prime power $p^k$ (where $p$ is a prime number and $k$ is a
positive integer). In a field of order $p^k$, adding $p$ copies of any
element always results in zero; that is, the characteristic of the
field is $p$.

due to this paragraph $Z_{4}$ should be a finite field while it isn't a field.
So my question is: Did my teacher make a mistake? Is finite field the same ring? if not then what is different between finite field and ring?
I read almost all related pages in internet to find out the difference between field and finite field but none of them explained exactly and now I'm still confused about it, so I decided to ask here.

A: A finite field is a field.  A field, whether finite or infinite, has no zero divisors. If by $\mathbf{Z}_4$ you mean $\mathbf{Z}/4\mathbf{Z}$, the ring of integers modulo $4$, then you are correct that that ring has zero divisors and is therefore not a field. There is a field with four elements, but it is different from $\mathbf{Z}/4\mathbf{Z}$. With respect to addition, this field looks like $(\mathbf{Z}/2\mathbf{Z})\times(\mathbf{Z}/2\mathbf{Z})$. With respect to multiplication, its structure is more involved; it should be easy to locate sources describing the construction.
Here is a brief summary: in the field $\mathbf{Z}/2\mathbf{Z}$ there is no solution to the equation $x^2+x+1=0$ (since $\mathbf{Z}/2\mathbf{Z}$ has only two elements, $0$ and $1$, and neither solves the equation). We may extend the field $\mathbf{Z}/2\mathbf{Z}$ by including a new element $x$ that solves the equation above, in much the same way as we extend $\mathbf{R}$ by including a solution to $x^2+1=0$. The result is a field with four elements. So elements of the extended field include $0$, $1$, $x$, and $x+1$.  You might ask, "what about $x^2$, etc.?" But since $x$ satisfies $x^2+x+1=0$, we can always eliminate $x^2$ and higher powers of $x$. This is analogous to using $i^2=-1$ to eliminate higher powers of $i$ when working with complex numbers. You can verify that the non-zero elements of this new field form a cyclic group of order $3$:
$$
1, x, x^2, x^3, x^4, x^5,\ldots=1, x, x+1, 1, x, x+1, \ldots.
$$
Note that finite fields are unique up to isomorphism.
Hope this helps.

A: If $k$ is a finite field, then the ring homomorphism
$$\varphi:\mathbb{Z}\rightarrow k,z\mapsto z\cdot1$$
where $z\cdot 1=\underbrace{1+...+1}_{z}$ for $z$ nonnegative and $z\cdot 1=\underbrace{-1+(-1)...+(-1)}_{-z}$ for $z$ negative, where $\underbrace{1+...+1}_{0}=0$ is the empty sum, must have a non trivial kernel, since otherwise $\varphi$ would be  injective and $\mathbb{Z}$ is infinite. Now $\mathbb{Z}$ is a principal ideal domain, and thus the kernel must be of the form $(p)=\{zp:z\in\mathbb{Z}\}$ for some $p\neq 0$ and now it is easy to see that the quotient $\mathbb{Z}_p=\mathbb{Z}/(p)$ is only an integral domain if $p$ is prime itself. Since a subring of a field is an integral domain, the kernel must thus be $(p)$ for a prime $p$, called the characteristic of $k$ and the above quotient is the image of $\mathbb{Z}$ in $k$. Now $k$ is a vectorspace over this subfield, which is also called the prime field
, of finite dimension, say
$$\dim_{\mathbb{Z}_p}k=n$$
then $k$ has exactly $p^n$ elements.


text:
Hathara Varan () is a 2021 Sri Lankan Sinhala comedy film directed by Chathura Perera in his directorial debut and produced by Sumana Deepthi Gunaratne for Hiru Fashions. It stars director himself in lead role with Pubudu Chathuranga, Kumara Thirimadura and Bandula Wijeweera in supportive roles.

The film has its premiere on 29 January 2021 at the Liberty Cinema in Kollupitiya.

Cast
 Chathura Perera as A.B.C Jinadasa aka Jina
 Pubudu Chathuranga as Police officer
 Kumara Thirimadura as Edward
 Bandula Wijeweera as Hamu mahaththaya
 Teddy Vidyalankara as Edward's henchman
 Thakshila Sewwandi as Sanjana
 Rajitha Hiran as Jine's accomplice
 Nandana Hettiarachchi as Poli Mudalali
 D. B. Gangodathenna as Sanjana's manager
 Samadara Ariyawansa as Piyawathi, Jine's mother
 Dilki Mihiraji as Madhuri, Jine's sister
 Preethi Wijesinghe as Menika, Sanjana's servant
 Anil Jayasinghe as Sootiya
 Ravindra Pradeep
 Asanga Perera as Electric meter reader
 Pawara Hansana as child actor

References

2020s Sinhala-language films
2021 films
2021 comedy films
Sri Lankan comedy films

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


"The lease is up" in February, explained the recipient of the 1995 Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award from the James Beard Foundation. But Kinkead plans to turn out the lights in his 245-seat seafood behemoth a few weeks early, in part to give his 95 staff members Christmas off.
News of the impending closure was released prematurely last night via Twitter, by a manager who will be "severely disciplined" today, Kinkead said.


Delivering quality food to hungry people in New Mexico is our main goal at Roadrunner Food Bank. And, every week, Roadrunner Food Bank feeds 70,000 hungry people in New Mexico.
To ensure that the food we provide is handled in a safe manner, we follow food safety guidelines from Feeding America in every aspect of our work—from food drives to store pick-ups. Food safety is one aspect of our Food Rescue Program.
Following AIB standards as the Food Bank seeks accreditation under AIB food safety guidelines. AIB is an international accreditation program whose purpose is to protect the global food supply chain.
At Roadrunner Food Bank, food safety is a top priority. Taking these steps helps us ensure that New Mexico's hungry people get quality food that provides the nutrition and sustenance they need.
Every week, we provide food to 70,000 people in New Mexico. That adds up to more than 30 million pounds of food every year. We always need volunteers and donations to keep up with the growing number of people seeking help with food in New Mexico. Contact us today to see how you can help.


text:
General Tinio (Tagalog: Bayan ng General Tinio) ist eine philippinische Stadtgemeinde in der Provinz Nueva Ecija, in der Verwaltungsregion III, Central Luzon. General Tinio hat  Einwohner (Zensus ), die in 13 Barangays lebten. Sie wird als Gemeinde der ersten Einkommensklasse auf den Philippinen und als teilweise urbanisiert eingestuft.

General Tinio liegt am Fuße des Gebirgszuges der Sierra Madre. Ihre Nachbargemeinden sind Doña Remedios Trinidad im Süden, Gapan im Südwesten, Peñaranda im Westen, Santa Rosa im Nordwesten, Gabaldon und Laur im Norden und Dingalan im Osten.

Die Archäologische Ausgrabungsstätte Arubo liegt östlich des Gemeindezentrums. In ihr wurden Faustkeile geborgen, die in das Zeitalter des Acheuléen datiert werden. Zu den Haupttourismusattraktionen gehören der Minalungao National Park.

Baranggays

Weblinks

Ort auf den Philippinen
Nueva Ecija


At Esteban-Trinidad Law, P.C., we are creative problem solvers, helping clients resolve legal issues efficiently and effectively. We are skilled advisors, dispensing proactive advice to employees who face workplace problems, as well as to new and existing businesses.
Our Las Vegas personal injury practice includes car accidents, workers compensation, social security disability, defective products, slip and falls, dog bites, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bike accidents, premises liability, or any other case where you may have been hurt or injured.
Our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys have extensive experience with all kinds of personal injury and accident claims including: Automobile Accidents, Wrongful Death, Truck Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Catastrophic Injuries, Nursing Home Negligence, Dog Bites, Premises Liability, and Pedestrian Accidents.
Our personal injury attorneys represent plaintiffs who have sustained injuries due to medical malpractice, defective products, slip and fall accidents, and car, boat, and airplane accidents. Conveniently located in Las Vegas, we are well-positioned to provide services for injured clients in Clark County and throughout Nevada.
Hunt Law Office is a Las Vegas, Nevada Personal Injury Law Office helping injured workers with their workers' compensation claims.


text:
Game of Mates: Exposing the corruption club
By John Jiggens | 9 March 2018, 10:30am | comments
Political favours can be quite rewarding if you're willing to play the game (Image via gameofmates.com)
Favours, grey gifts and mutual back-scratching can be profitable when you're part of a loyal circle; Dr John Jiggens explores the highly lauded book, Game of Mates.
GAME OF MATES: How favours bleed the nation has been acclaimed as one of the most insightful analyses of what many mislabel "corruption" in contemporary Australia, examining how the regulators of the common wealth and political insiders co-operate to mutually enrich each other in a "game of mates". Authors Dr Cameron Murray and Professor Paul Frijters began as environmental economists, investigating land rezoning by the Queensland Government agency, the Urban Land Development Authority. The land rezoned by this authority increased in value by hundreds of millions of dollars as a consequence of the rezoning — a very generous "grey gift" to the successful developers.
In examining the characteristics of landowners whose lands were rezoned by this Queensland government agency, Murray and Fritjer discovered that you were far more likely to be rezoned if you had connected relationships; common business connections, membership of lobby groups or had directors with business connection to the regulating board. In the successful group, 90% were clients of professional lobbyists. The lobbyists had a 100% success rate, with no landowners who employed lobbyists missing out on the rezoning. And 70% of rezoned landowners were political donors. These donors gave to both sides of politics — they were "equal opportunity" donors.
Murray and Fritjer concluded that success in land rezoning in Queensland depended on how well you played the "game of mates", which was a process of joining the club of insiders who were connected to the regulators. The book, Game of Mates, extends this analysis beyond land rezoning to many other major parts of the Australian economy, including mining, banking and public health. A "game of mates" can be described as a complex favour exchange network that evolves among operators who have overlapping careers in politics and business, and as regulators, where they control and distribute what the authors call "grey gifts".
They identified three core ingredients in the political favouritism that contribute to the "game of mates". The first was that there must be a honey pot – a grey gift – a valuable economic gain able to be given to private entities with a degree of discretion about who receives it. In their original study, this was the untaxed wealth gained through the process of rezoning, but there are many other discretionary gifts.
Consequently, they argue that one of the best ways to prevent "game of mates" is to remove the various honey pots that they form around. For example, in land rezoning, the A.C.T. successfully implemented such a system in 1971, where they charge landowners 75% of the value gained from the rezoning. They also do not allow private developers to convert land from rural to urban uses, ensuring a public agency captures these value gains as well. The A.C.T. raised $183 million from these systems last year. Scaling up, that could be $1.8 billion in revenue in a single year to the Queensland Government and councils that is currently given away to landowners through planning decisions.
The book also examines other grey gifts in areas beyond real estate such as banking, superannuation, mining and the "game of mates" that has evolved in these areas.
Loyal group of mates
The second ingredient necessary is the existence of a loyal group of mates who are able to sustain an implicit system of trading favours — a powerful club, which other powerful players can join and that has a revolving door relationship with the regulating authority. Politicians and political appointees to boards are the major vector for this aspect of the "game of mates".
Alan Jones had a list of 400 individuals who had moved from well-paying jobs in politics and government, where they were charged with regulating mining, to even better paid jobs with the mining companies. Consider the coal and coal seam gas rush; after leaving politics, Martin Ferguson, the former Labor Resources Minister, became chairman of the advisory committee for the peak oil and gas industry, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association. His colleagues, Greg Combet, former Gillard Government minister for climate change, and Craig Emerson, former minister for trade, both work as economic consultants to AGL and Santos, two of the biggest players in CSG in New South Wales. Former National Party leaders John Anderson and Mark Vaile also moved into high profile roles in mining and CSG companies after politics; John Anderson became chair of Eastern Star Gas and Mark Vaile became a director and then chairman of Whitehaven Coal, the company behind Maules Creek.
By establishing a loyal group through common membership of clubs and industry groups, family and business connections and by signalling your intention to reciprocate with political donations, politicians and other group members are able to give favours, knowing they will receive them in the future. The code is simple — mates look after mates. Instead of taking direct bribes for each decision, they simply give favours to other group members who later reciprocate, ensuring that any wealth diverted to the group is eventually widely shared amongst all members.
Thirdly, there must be a plausible story to let the public believe that this trading of favours is in the public interest. Influence traders in the media, particularly Rupert Murdoch and his empire, and the "libertarian" Institute of Public Affairs, have been major players in promoting such fables.
As Ross Gittins, economics editor for the Sydney Morning Herald commented:
'This book will open your eyes to how Australia really works. It is not good news but you need to know it.'
Find out more about the book 'Game of Mates' at gameofmates.com.
Dr John Jiggens is a writer and journalist currently working in the community newsroom at Bay-FM in Byron Bay.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
Frequency Monthly Annually
A terrific review and summary of my book Game of Mates. https://t.co/Wr1NTBFauW
Get the book via https://t.co/J8mu3aG8qT pic.twitter.com/e7M0cE27qJ
— Cameron Murray (@DrCameronMurray) February 8, 2018
Subscribe to IA and we'll be your best mate!
POLITICS LITERATURE ENVIRONMENT MINING
Game of Mates Dr Cameron Murray Paul Frijters rezoning corruption Urban Land Development Authority grey gifts Coal Seam Gas CSG Santos
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14 July 2019, 9:00am What is happening to Julian Assange is nothing short of torture and a denial of his ...
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


re:living: shot in the dark.
i'm rediscovering that i love to teach. informally.
i love to prepare and design lessons, devotionals, study guides. it's why i dream of being an instructional designer, or doing leadership development within a ministry. i just don't have the resources to make that possible right now, nor do i see many openings for entry-level positions in the area i live, anyway.
so, my job search again, with a mind of its own, veers off the path i thought to follow. again, i feel lost. so, rediscovering my love for teaching? it feels like i printed out the directions and, because the printer was low on ink, only step 5 is legible: "turn left on carmella avenue." it helps me not.
have you ever felt like you have crayons without paper to draw on, or only step 5 in the directions?


text:
A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland, also known by its standard abbreviation Spec. Bot. New Holland, was the first published book on the flora of Australia. Written by James Edward Smith and illustrated by James Sowerby, it was published by Sowerby in four parts between 1793 and 1795. It consists of 16 colour plates of paintings by Sowerby, mostly based on sketches by John White, and around 40 pages of accompanying text. It was presented as the first volume in a series, but no further volumes were released.

Book

The work began as a collaboration between Smith and George Shaw. Together they produced a two-part work entitled Zoology and Botany of New Holland, with each part containing two zoology plates and two botany plates, along with accompanying text. These appeared in 1793, although the publications themselves indicate 1794. The collaboration then ended, and Shaw went on to independently produce his Zoology of New Holland. Smith's contributions to Zoology and Botany of New Holland became the first two parts of A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland, a further two parts of which were issued in 1795.

Australian plants listed

The book contained details of the following Australian plants:
 Billardiera scandens
 Tetratheca juncea
 Ceratopetalum gummiferum
 Banksia spinulosa (Hairpin Banksia)
 Goodenia ramosissima, now Scaevola ramosissima
 Platylobium formosum
 Platylobium parviflorum, now Platylobium formosum subsp. parviflorum (not figured)
 Embothrium speciosissimum, now Telopea speciosissima (New South Wales Waratah)
 Embothrium silaifolium, now Lomatia silaifolia
 Embothrium sericeum, now Grevillea sericea
 E. s. var. minor, now Grevillea sericea
 E. s. var. major, now Grevillea speciosa (Red Spider Flower)
 E. s. var. angustifolia, now Grevillea linearifolia
 Embothrium buxifolium, now Grevillea buxifolia (Grey Spider Flower)
 Pimelea linifolia
 Pultenaea stipularis
 Eucalyptus robusta
 Eucalyptus tereticornis (not figured)
 Eucalyptus capitellata (not figured)
 Eucalyptus piperita (previously published by Smith in White's 1790 Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales; not figured)
 Eucalyptus obliqua (previously published by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle; not figured)
 Eucalyptus corymbosa, now Corymbia gummifera (Unbeknownst to Smith, this had already been published by Joseph Gaertner as Metrosideros gummifera)
 Styphelia tubiflora
 Styphelia ericoides, now Leucopogon ericoides (not figured)
 Styphelia strigosa, now Lissanthe strigosa (not figured)
 Styphelia scoparia, now Monotoca scoparia (not figured)
 Styphelia daphnoides, now Brachyloma daphnoides (not figured)
 Styphelia lanceolata, now Leucopogon lanceolatus (not figured)
 Styphelia elliptica, now Monotoca elliptica (not figured)
 Mimosa myrtifolia, now Acacia myrtifolia
 Mimosa hispidula, now Acacia hispidula

References

1793 books
Books about Australian natural history
Botany in Australia
Florae (publication)
History of Australia (1788–1850)
Taxa named by James Edward Smith
1790s in science


text:
Biomedical Sciences Experts
Seok-juyoo
UZ Gent
A statistician/epidemiologist in the Division of Population Health Sciences, at the School of Medicine, University of Dundee. He has been working closely with Professor Peter Donnan on many research projects since he joined Dundee Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit (DEBU) in 2014. His current research is mainly in medical statistics and population health sciences.
Nonparametric statistics Survival analysis Statistical modelling Epidemiology Public health research
Global Experts from Belgium
Copyright © 2023 OMICS International, All Rights Reserved.


This week I talk with Karl Larson and Matt Evans, two of the members of the piano trio, Bearthoven, about their most recent album, Trios. Though their third member Pat Swoboda was unable to join us, we dug deep in their process of creating the album, the commissioning of pieces for the album, and the current new music landscape. We talked a great deal about Bang on a Can, who you should absolutely investigate as well.
Bearthoven is a piano trio creating a new repertoire for a familiar instrumentation by commissioning works from leading young composers. Karl Larson (piano), Pat Swoboda (bass), and Matt Evans (percussion) have combined their individual voices and diverse musical backgrounds, coming together to create a versatile trio focused on frequent and innovative commissioning of up-and-coming composers. Bearthoven is rapidly building a diverse repertoire by challenging composers to apply their own voice to an instrumentation that, while common amongst jazz and pop idioms, is currently foreign in the contemporary classical world.
Enjoy the podcast, and if you'd like to help support the podcast and my other work, subscribe to my Patreon page or make a one time tax-deductible donation here.
Follow Bearthoven on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.


text:
package de.unistuttgart.iste.rss.bugminer.model.entities;

import java.time.Instant;

import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.Inheritance;
import javax.persistence.ManyToOne;

import de.unistuttgart.iste.rss.bugminer.model.BaseEntity;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Scope;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

/**
 * An event in the timeline of a bug report
 */
@Component
@Scope("prototype")
@Entity
@Inheritance
public class Event extends BaseEntity {
	@ManyToOne
	private Bug bug;

	@ManyToOne
	private Person actor;

	private Instant time;

	protected Event() {
		// Should not be instanciated directly
	}

	public Bug getBug() {
		return bug;
	}

	public void setBug(Bug bug) {
		this.bug = bug;
	}

	public Person getActor() {
		return actor;
	}

	public void setActor(Person actor) {
		this.actor = actor;
	}

	public Instant getTime() {
		return time;
	}

	public void setTime(Instant time) {
		this.time = time;
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


We find our if Ben learned anything that might help him in the apocalypse by writing a Star Wars book and that Ben is 100% a 6'6" Beta which seems like an oxymoron. Go check out Thriling Adventure Hour http://thrillingadventurehour.com/ a podcast/show Ben created and buy his new book on Amazon here! https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Join-Resistance-Book/dp/1484704843 Email me some 'would you rather's or topics and gear you think we need to discuss TravisAndAndie@gmail.com Follow me on twitter @AndieBolt thanks for all your continued support! Stay Safe Out There, Hope and Cheesecake.
Mom brings a catch all prepper book "Back to Basics a complete guide to traditional skills" you can buy it here (we are not sponsored, just sharing) http://www.mypatriotsupply.com/Back_To_Basics_p/zb_b2basics.htm?Click=289615&gclid=Cj0KEQjw8tbHBRC6rLS024qYjtEBEiQA7wIDec7tVIfJJIUba5zVIMT3iVcr6Jb84gqsLrus1n8BhwwaAgqk8P8HAQ.
We review a gift to Andie from Travis, a deck of "Urban Survival Cards" which you can get here: http://urbansurvivalplayingcards.com/. I get into how personally I think Waze is possibly going to be Vader in our Robot Apocalypse. Mama Bolt talks optimism and jokes and how they've helped with her fight with cancer (NET Tumors #Awareness). Andie rambles on cause cancer talk makes her uncomfortable, (so go easy on me when I'm long winded, please and thank you). And lastly here is the fake squirrel news article https://worldnewsdailyreport.com/woman-arrested-for-training-squirrels-to-attack-her-ex-boyfriend/. #StaySafeOutThere #HopeAndCheesecake #DontDie Love you all. Thank you so much for listening and we'll be here next week!


text:
Cornulella är ett släkte av svampdjur. Cornulella ingår i familjen Acarnidae.

Kladogram enligt Catalogue of Life:

Källor

Horn- och kiselsvampar
Cornulella


text:
Justice Menu
Top 500 on The DJ List
Electro House, Indie Dance / Nu Disco
AKA: Xavier De Rosnay
Ariwa, Because Music, Downtown Music
Justice live documentary 'IRIS' gains wide release via YouTube Music
Back in September 2018 when we asked Justice's Xavier De Rosnay if Woman Worldwide would feature...
Thu 21st November 6 PM
Listen to a new Justice and Frank Ocean collab
A fan has been real sneaky and filmed the preview to a Justice and Frank Ocean collab from what w...
Mon 28th October 12 AM
Justice is a Grammy-nominated French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé (born 21 May 1979 in Besançon) and Xavier De Rosnay (born 22 July 1982). They are the most successful group on Ed Banger Records, and are managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter. Their debut album † was released in June 2007 to critical acclaim. The album was later nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album" and came in at number 15 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2007 and number 18 on Blender's "25 Best Albums of 2007" list. It was nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, losing out to The Reminder by Feist. Justice is known for incorporating a strong rock influence into their music and image.
Justice won the award for Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006, for Justice vs. Simian – "We Are Your Friends". Augé and de Rosnay were not present at the ceremony, and the award was accepted by label art director "So Me" and video director Jérémie Rozan. So Me was famously interrupted mid-speech by rapper Kanye West, who went onto the stage arguing that he should have won the award instead.
Their debut album, titled †, was released on Ed Banger Records on 11 June 2007. The album was released in the United States on Downtown/Ed Banger. The album was preceded by the D.A.N.C.E. EP, released on 28 May 2007, which featured the tracks "Phantom" and their own remix of "D.A.N.C.E." titled "B.E.A.T". "D.A.N.C.E." was nominated for "Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. On the first of November Justice received the "Video Star" award at the European Music Awards in Munich and also picked up the best French act of the year. Justice was chosen to do a mix for the Fabriclive series in 2008, but Fabric rejected it. Xavier de Rosnay said that, "[t]hey weren't ready for something like this." Now titled "Justice Xmas Mix," the mix is available on the web.
Justice appeared as a Live PA at the 2007 Coachella festival, the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan, the Hultsfred Festival in Hultsfred, Sweden, the Oxegen festival in Kildare, Ireland, the Vieilles Charrues Festival in Carhaix, France, the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark, Pukkelpop in Belgium, at the "I LOVE TECHNO" festival in Ghent – Belgium. Dour Festival in Belgium and the Lowlands festival in The Netherlands, also at Tennents Vital in the Radio One TentBelfast and at the Phoenix Park Marquee in Dublin. Justice's performance at Coachella in 2007 was their first ever live music performance per se. The band's performances before Coachella had seen them DJ using either turntables or CD mixers. Justice was nominated for Best Dance Recording (for D.A.N.C.E.) and Best Electronic/Dance Album (for †) at the 50th Grammy Awards.
The video clip for "Stress" was boycotted by several TV-stations, so the band dumped the video on YouTube where it was seen by 14,000 people within 24 hours after having been posted on 1 May 2008. The music video features a group of youths committing acts of vandalism and wearing jackets bearing the Justice cross on the back.
Their style has been thought of as having some heavy metal influence and combines cut up bass lines with a compressed and distorted synth sound. Their music often includes bass slapping which results in an electro house style. Additionally, Justice uses samples of other songs to add to the effect, as with their song "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy", featuring Uffie.
myspace.com/etjusticepourtous
spotify.com/artist/1gr0gsqyfi6joyo1dlp76n
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/justice/id145072812
beatport.com/artist/thedjlist/2331
soundcloud.com/official-justice
facebook.com/etjusticepourtous
Follow Justice


text:
SEED office opens in London to help UK business expand into Singapore
Krishna Chaitanya Karanam 12 April 2019
Image: SEED office to support UK businesses to sell their products in the ASEAN region through e-commerce. Photo: courtesy of StockSnap/Pixabay.
The UK Department for International Trade (DIT) has announced the opening of the Singapore eCommerce Enterprises Development (SEED) office in London that will offer UK companies expert advice and support for expanding their trade into Singapore, China and ASEAN nations.
The opening of the SEED office is in line with the Singapore-United Kingdom Partnership for the Future, which was launched in January 2019.
The Department for International Trade said that trade between the two countries has never been stronger with the UK's exports of goods and services to Singapore being worth £8.6bn in 2017, from what was under £3bn in 1999.
SEED is a consortium of Singaporean companies, which has been helped by Enterprise Singapore, a trade and enterprise development government agency, to establish its presence in the UK.
The SEED office is expected to support UK businesses to sell their products to the growing population in the ASEAN region through e-commerce.
It will provide UK companies the information required to help them take their business into the region with Singapore as the entry point. The office will provide services such as data analytics, market research and development of an e-commerce strategy.
According to the Department for International Trade, the opening of the office recognises the brilliant innovative talent of UK brands and firms and of the UK being a worldwide market leader when it comes to retail consumer goods and products.
UK Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the Department for International Trade, Baroness Fairhead, said: "The opening of this office recognises the strength and excellence of British brands and their appeal to consumers. ASEAN eCommerce sales are projected to grow to approximately £77bn by 2025 with 650m people across the region eager to buy the UK's innovative and high-quality products and services.
"With its state of the art distribution network, a sophisticated economy and its ease of doing business, Singapore acts as an ideal gateway for UK companies into the region."
The Minister said that British businesses looking to expand into Singapore, China and ASEAN countries can contact the Department for International Trade to know more about the support they can get from the government.


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Select.. Paintings Atlas Editions Drawings Overpainted Photographs Oil on Paper Watercolours Prints Other
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by size (cm)
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4900 Colours
Townscapes
Townscape Sa
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Stadtbild Sa
1969 124 cm x 124 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 219-2
Associated Works
In contrast to the aerial photographs, some of which depict entire areas of towns, the townscapes are from a shorter distance, having been based on photographs of architectural models. Gerhard Richter omits entirely or only hints at details such as windows; the architecture is reduced to basic forms, leaving the distinct geometric shapes of individual buildings clearly recognizable.
The buildings are mainly rendered in light colours, with the prominent shadows in the paintings conveying the impression of bright sunlight. The paint is applied extensively; only some parts, often depicting trees or bushes, show distinct brushwork and additional shades of grey.
The unreal, partly sterile feel of the image can be attributed to both the reduction in detail and the use of an architectural model as the source image.
The simplified architectural forms illustrate how, while Gerhard Richter deals with the process of abstraction in this series, the motif always remains identifiable.
The depictions of minimalist architecture of the post-war era reflect an important sociopolitical issue of the 1950s and 1960s. In the course of the rebuilding of war-damaged Germany, new buildings of the kind depicted replaced lost houses. Thus, these paintings illustrate the optimistic fresh start made after the Second World War and can be understood as a counterpoint to the townscapes that are reminiscent of bombed-out cities.
Notes prepared by editorial team
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA
This artwork is based on an image included in Atlas:
Cities 1968 Atlas Sheet: 117 edit
Plakat Aachen
Aachen Poster 1969 Atlas Sheet: 22 edit
This Atlas sheet includes the source images of the following works:
Aachen Poster 1969 Catalogue Raisonné: 22 edit
This artwork was shown in the following exhibitions:
Storm of Progress. German Art After 1800 from the Collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum , , 08 November 2020 – 28 February 2021
Postwar German Art in the Collection Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA 29 June 2013 – 26 January 2014
German Art. Deutsche Kunst aus amerikanischer Sicht. German Art: An American View on German Art Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 14 September 2004 – 14 November 2004
German Art Now Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA 18 October 2003 – 11 January 2004
Der Hang zur Architektur in der Malerei der Gegenwart The Inclination to Architecture in Contemporary Painting Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 03 September 1988 – 23 October 1988
Auf der Spur. Sammlung Stober On the Trail: Stober Collection Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany 12 September 1987 – 01 November 1987
Kunsttage Berlin 1978: Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts aus Berliner Privatbesitz Kunsttage Berlin 1978: 20th Century Art from Private Berlin Collections Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Germany 09 April 1978 – 15 May 1978
Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen: Mit Kamera, Pinsel und Spritzpistole. Realistische Kunst in unserer Zeit Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen: With Camera, Paintbrush and Spraygun, Realistic Art in our Time Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Recklinghausen, Germany 04 May 1973 – 17 June 1973
Fünf Sammler. Kunst unserer Zeit Five Collectors – Art of our Time Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal, Germany 05 June 1971 – 11 July 1971
Gerhard Richter – Städtebilder Gerhard Richter – Townscapes Galerie Heiner Friedrich, Munich, Germany 14 April 1970 – 05 May 1970
Düsseldorfer Szene The Düsseldorf Scene Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland 15 June 1969 – 13 July 1969
Gerhard Richter Gegenverkehr e.V. Zentrum für aktuelle Kunst, Aachen, Germany 27 March 1969 – 22 April 1969
This artwork is included in the following publications:
Duke University Press, Durham
Softcover, 163 pages
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 115-117
Unconsolable Contemporary: Observing Gerhard Richter Rabinow, Paul edit 2017
Édition du Centre Pompidou, Paris
Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille
Artwork Discussed: pp. 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81
Gerhard Richter: Panorama, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, 2012
Gerhard Richter, Panorama: une rétrospective = a retrospective Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille / Borchardt-Hume, Achim / Dickson, Amy / Haidu, Rachel / Mehring, Christine edit 2012
Prestel, München
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 74-79
Gerhard Richter: Panorama, Neue und Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 2012
Gerhard Richter: Panorama: Retrospektive Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille / Borchardt-Hume, Achim / Dickson, Amy / Haidu, Rachel / Mehring, Christine edit 2012
Marsilio, Venezia
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 71, 118
Il bordo del mondo: La forma sguardo nella pittura di Gerhard Richter Garbin, Emanuele edit 2011
Tate Publishing, London
Gerhard Richter: Panorama, Tate Modern, London, UK, 2011
Gerhard Richter: Panorama: A Retrospective Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille / Borchardt-Hume, Achim / Dickson, Amy / Haidu, Rachel / Mehring, Christine edit 2011
Softcover, 96 pages
Artwork Discussed: pp. 65-69
In this publication, eminent American scholar and curator Robert Storr offers an authoritative consideration of September, Richter's 2005 painting made in response to the attacks on the WorldTrade Center of 11 September 2001,
September. A History Painting by Gerhard Richter Storr, Robert edit 2010
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 158
Gerhard Richter has been widely regarded as a publicity shy artist. However, the biography Gerhard Richter. A Life in Painting gives an insight into Richter's personal history as well as into the development of his artistic œuvre.
Gerhard Richter. A Life in Painting Elger, Dietmar edit 2009
Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany, 2008
Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, 2008
The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder at Museum Ludwig, Cologne and Haus der Kunst, Munich. The exhibitions were dedicated to Gerhard Richter's abstract pictures
Gerhard Richter: Abstrakte Bilder Wilmes, Ulrich / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Söntgen, Beate / Stemmrich, Gregor edit 2008
Gerhard Richter. Large Abstracts Wilmes, Ulrich / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Söntgen, Beate / Stemmrich, Gregor edit 2008
Hatje Cantz, Ostildern-Ruit
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 59
Gerhard Richter: Portraits, Museumsberg Flensburg, Flensburg, Germany, 2006
Gerhard Richter. Portraits is the first publication that focuses solely on Richter's portraits, many of which have now gained both recognition and veneration across the globe.
Gerhard Richter, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany, 2005
Gerhard Richter, K20 Grabbeplatz, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2005
This catalogue raisonné records Richter's works in the years 1993-2004. In his work, Gerhard Richter calls into question painting's boundaries, and the labels applied to painting and theories connected with them.
Artwork Illustrated: p. 104 (colour)
German Art: An American View on German Art, Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 2004
German Art. Deutsche Kunst aus amerikanischer Sicht. Werke aus der Sammlung des Saint Louis Art Museum Firmenich, Andrea / Homburg, Cornelia edit 2004
Merrell Publishers, London
Artwork Illustrated: p. 86 (colour)
German Art Now, Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA, 2003
German Art Now Steiner, Mary Ann edit 2003
Gli Ori, Prato
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 16, 30, 169, 171, 179, 181
Gerhard Richter, Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy, 1999
Gerhard Richter Corà, Bruno / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Chevrier, Jean Francois / Moscati, Italo edit 1999
Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt a. M.
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 53, 54
Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977. Eine Kunst-Monographie Hemken, Kai-Uwe edit 1998
Artwork Discussed: pp. 38, 48
Frieder Burda Collection: Gerhard Richter. Sigmar Polke. Arnulf Rainer, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany, 1996
Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Arnulf Rainer. Sammlung Frieder Burda = Collection Frieder Burda Poetter, Jochen / Brehm, Margrit / Möckel, Birgit edit 1996
German English French
Three-volume box set.
Gerhard Richter, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, 1993
Gerhard Richter: Painting 1962–1993, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany, 1993
Gerhard Richter: Painting, Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France, 1993
Three-volume box set. Vol. 1: Illustrated works in exhibition. This volume (196 pp) contains approximately 92 four-colour and black and white plates (272 total works reproduced),
Gerhard Richter: Catalogue Raisonné 1962 - 1993 Pagé, Suzanne / Jacob, Wenzel / Springfield, Björn / König, Kasper / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. edit 1993
Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart
Unknown binding, 171 pages
The Inclination to Architecture in Contemporary Painting, Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1988
Der Hang zur Architektur in der Malerei der Gegenwart Klotz, Heinrich edit 1988
Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 106, 144
Illustrated: p. 107 (colour)
On the Trail: Stober Collection, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany, 1987
Auf der Spur. Sammlung Stober. Eine Auswahl der Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst sowie Skulpturen, Masken, Gefässen aus Afrika, Mexiko, Asien Kempas, Thomas edit 1987
Illustrated: p. 96 (b/w)
Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1962–1985, Museum moderner Kunst/Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Austria, 1986
Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1963–1986, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland, 1986
Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1962–1985, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 1986
Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1962–1985, Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany, 1986
Städtische Kunsthalle, Recklinghausen
Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen: With Camera, Paintbrush and Spraygun, Realistic Art in our Time, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen, Recklinghausen, Germany, 1973
Mit Kamera, Pinsel und Spritzpistole. Realistische Kunst in unserer Zeit. (27.) Rurfestspiele Recklinghausen Schmoll, Josef A. / Becker, Wolfgang / Steinert, Otto edit 1973
Italian German English
Artwork Mentioned: pp. 10-11, 41
36th Venice Biennale, German Pavilion, Venice, Italy, 1972
Von-der-Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal
Five Collectors – Art of our Time, Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal, Germany, 1971
Fünf Sammler, Kunst unserer Zeit. Ein Beitrag zum Forum 'Urbs 71' der Städte Bochum, Dortmund, Köln, Krefeld, Oberhausen, Wuppertal Müller, Johann-Heinrich / Aust, Günter edit 1971
This artwork is shown or mentioned in the following videos:
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It's always a wake up call to go clothes shopping. Are the mirrors designed to make us look terrible and what is that horrible light that shines or us? It make me wonder is that how I really look. I find it amazing that the shops ever sell any clothes! I come back feeling depressed and resolve to lose weight!
So when my diet is off course I think I need to try on clothes to give me that fright I need!


Hail to the Kale is an awe-inspiring kale salad that tastes way better than you would expect kale to taste! Yes, ordering a kale salad can be scary because let's face it, raw kale is bitter. But, Lacinato kale, our salad green of choice here, is super dark, and much more tender than its curly counterpart. Topped with avocado (nature's butter), apple, raisin, coconut, and house-made candied pecans, this Signature salad will banish all of those kale nerves and leave you filled with more nutrients than you could hope for.
The Hail to the Kale salad highlights lacinato kale. Kale, being the powerhouse detoxifier that it is, is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as 45 different flavonoids. These rich leafy greens are so nutrient-dense we like to think of them as our all-encompassing healthy greens, supplying us with extraordinary anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties, immune support, strong detoxifying and blood purifying properties, and so much more. Not to mention, this salad also offers great heart-healthy fats from the avocado and protein from the quinoa and edamame!
Who says salads are for the weak? Power on protein!
Akin to our Southwest Wrap, this salad is far from ordinary! We begin with a bed of crisp, fresh romaine lettuce, and then layer on our black bean and corn salad, wild rice blend, avocado, red pepper, cucumber, and grape tomatoes! Topped off with our oh-so-addictive house-made spicy hummus and tossed with our house-made ranch dressing (which is 100% plant-based of course) the Southwest salad is satisfying, nutrient-dense, and has the perfect zing!
The Southwest salad is a perfectly balanced and complete meal, filled with protein from the hummus, complex carbs from the wild rice, heart-healthy fats from the avocado, and fiber from the beans. Delish! Water-dense romaine is our base, next piling on wild rice, fiber-rich black bean & corn salad, creamy and heart-healthy avocado, vitamin-C-rich red pepper, cleansing cucumber, and lycopene-dense grape tomatoes. But that's not all, we then make it even more scrumptious by drizzling on some of our house-made ranch dressing. Zing!
Romaine Lettuce, Wild Rice Blend, House-Made Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Avocado, Red Pepper, Cucumber, Grape Tomatoes, House-Made Spicy Hummus, and House-Made Ranch Dressing (100% plant-based), Sea Salt (Kosher), Black Pepper.


Curiél, Federico. (June 2012). (re)Generation Delta – Landscape strategy for a sustainably managed Pearl River Delta in: DKrueger, I., Miguel Ayala L., Driel, W.F. van, 2012: Delta Alliance Young Professionals Award, Innovative solutions for delta challenges worldwide. Delta Alliance Report number 3.


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Police seeking sat-nav thief
Updated: 12:53 AM February 23, 2021
A DISTINCTIVE thief is being sought by police following the theft of a satellite navigation system on Saturday. At around 8.30pm he is believed to have smashed the front passenger window of a silver Toyota parked in Beaconsfield Road, St Albans, and snatc
A DISTINCTIVE thief is being sought by police following the theft of a satellite navigation system on Saturday.
At around 8.30pm he is believed to have smashed the front passenger window of a silver Toyota parked in Beaconsfield Road, St Albans, and snatched the sat-nav system.
The man, who had a pierced lip with a stud, was white, 5ft 8ins tall with fair mousey hair. He was wearing a blue jacket with the hood down and light-blue jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0845 33 00 222 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
l TWO mountain bikes stolen from a shed in St Albans have been recovered - and now police are trying to trace the owner.
The bikes, a Townsend Takksmakka and a Raleigh, were taken from a shed near to a block of flats in Riverside Road, St Albans, at around 3am on Saturday.
But they were found nearby shortly afterwards and now police want to hear from anyone who has had their bikes stolen or knows someone who might have done.
Police can be contacted on 0845 33 00 222 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.


This recipe for Breakfast Casserole, by Kim McAllister, is from Beaver Creek Cowboy Church , one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We help families or individuals create heirloom cookbook treasures.
Brown & drain sausage. Cube and soften cream cheese, add to sausage and mix until blended. Unroll 1 can of crescent rolls on a cookie sheet for bottom crust. Spread the sausage and cream cheese mixture on top of crescent rolls. Take the other can of crescent rolls and lay on top of mixture. Then pinch seams together on top and sides to form a pie effect. Bake at 375° until crescent rolls are golden brown. Approx 15-20 minutes.


Take care of Customer needs from start to handover.
Progress report: CREs should keep the Clients updated with the progress at site. Interact closely with the Sales & Marketing department on weekly basis with regard to Progress of the Project and update on the relevant issues of the Project and Any issues to be co-ordinate by the Sales Team Members.
Documents and letters: CREs should send the required documents and letters to the Client, collect the payment and send timely reminders and payment receipts to the Client.
Send regular reminders regarding Payments due from the customers.
Prepare Targets for Collection of Payment due, on monthly basis based on the Collectable Report given by Finance department.
Track & record issue / receipt of Sale and Construction agreements and Payments of Customers.
Intimate the Process of Modifications in the unit, if applicable.
Assist in documentation for customers opting a Resale and initiation of Cancellations and Shifting of the Unit as per the Process.
Attend the Customers visiting the CRM Department on various issues related to Legal, Accounts , Handover and Registration of their unit.
Issue of Allotment Letters for the Default and Additional car parks to customers and co-ordinate with the concerned Internal Departments as per process.


From the "CATALOG" page of Japonte Shop, please go to the product page that you wish to order, select the quantity and click "ADD TO CART" to go to "Your Cart". After checking your chosen products, please click "CHECK OUT" and follow the instruction.
At Japonte Shop that payment method is Paypal or Credit card.
If you already have a Paypal account, please use it. If you do not have a Paypal account, you will need to create a Paypal account.
Delivery within Japan is done by Yamato Transport. Shipping charge, including packing material cost and work fee etc., is set as below.
For deliveries outside of Japan, you can select from 2 shipping methods of international postal service by Japan Post: EMS, e-Packets. Shipping charge, including packing material cost and work fee etc, is set for each country / region, and is checked at "CHECK OUT" page.
EMS (Express Mail Service). With this method your shipment is insured and can be tracked thanks to a tracking number, which we will send you after your package has been posted. Unless there is a problem, packages are delivered in most countries around the world within 3 to 6 days after they are sent. Usually, EMS and their partners take care of import duties and charge you at delivery if necessary.
e-Packets. Maximum weight of an item is 2 kg. With this method your packages are also given tracking numbers, however there is no compensation. Packages are generally delivered within 14 to 30 days after they are sent.
We do our best to process and send your package by EMS, e-Packets, or Yamato Transport within 3 working days after we have received your order. In all cases, you will be informed by email when your package is sent.
Once your order has been confirmed, it is impossible to cancel it.
In case there is a problem such as breakage of goods due to an accident during delivery, defective goods from the shipping stage, or delivered items different from the order contents, please contact us within 10 days after the item arrives. In that case, we will pay the return fee, we will ship the alternative items again. In addition, please confirm the terms of service for details.
No matter which shipping method is used, when items are shipped across national borders, customs duties, import charges and local taxes may apply, depending on the country. Given the different laws from one country to the next, every case is a special case. Thus, the amount that you pay when your order is taken does not include these kinds of additional costs, which may apply.
You are responsible for paying the additional costs if required by the laws of your country. Japonte Shop thus cannot take any responsibility for this. It should also be noted that we of course declare the real value of every shipment.


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Home News Tech Startups Embracing IPO Charity Set-Asides
Tech Startups Embracing IPO Charity Set-Asides
Technology startups increasingly are embracing the practice of setting aside company stock before an initial public offering as a source of funds for future charitable ventures, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.
Entrepreneurs who have taken their companies public and adopted the practice say it is a way of signaling their long-term commitment to corporate philanthropy and embedding it into the company's culture — which, among other things, can help attract customers who support businesses they see as agents of social change. Once skeptical of mixing business with charity, venture capital firms also have gotten into the act and, in some cases, are adding philanthropic startups to their portfolios and allocating a portion of their own equity in startups for charitable purposes. Indeed, the momentum behind the trend is such that, according to some VCs and entrepreneurs, charity set-asides could become the new normal in Silicon Valley.
The equity set-aside movement emerged in 1998, when eBay founder Pierre Omidyar created the eBay Foundation using shares in the company reserved from its initial public offering. According to philanthropist Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, the concept spread from there, with Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff setting aside 1 percent of the company's equity in 1999 to start what is now the Salesforce.com Foundation. Benioff's tactic, in turn, helped guide Google's 2004 decision to set aside three million shares of stock — worth more than $900 million at the time — to support its for-profit charitable arm, Google.org. And today nearly three hundred companies have pledged equity through Pledge 1%, a movement aimed at encouraging business leaders to build charity into the structure of their companies. The idea has even caught on beyond Silicon Valley, with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba earlier this year announcing a 2 percent set-aside of the company's pre-IPO shares — worth billions of dollars — to fund two charitable trusts.
A donor-advised fund at a community foundation is another attractive option for startups, said Fidelma McGinn, vice president for philanthropic services at the Seattle Foundation, in that they are low-cost, provide an immediate tax benefit and flexibility, and allow companies to outsource overhead expenses and administrative duties to foundation professionals. Young companies also like the fact that their own employees, many of whom lack experience in philanthropy, can be enlisted to help run the fund -- a selling point when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, said Salesforce.com Foundation co-founder and executive director Suzanne DiBianca.
But even as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists begin to "recognize that there's actually a return from a business perspective" in setting aside equity for charity, what remains unclear is exactly how the trend will play out for nonprofits and the populations they serve. Evidence that IPO set-asides boost the likelihood of company success is nonexistent, and researchers told the Chronicle it's nearly impossible to prove that a startup that has set aside equity is doing better or worse for having made the decision.
Still, startup founders and their venture capital allies are forging ahead. "People are learning that this is how you build a great company today," said DiBianca. "The new normal is our big vision."
Rebecca Koenig. "Billions at Stake as IPO Charity Set-Asides Become Routine." Chronicle of Philanthropy 12/17/2015.
Subjects: giving pledge; philanthropy / voluntarism
People: fidelma mcginn; marc benioff; pierre omidyar; suzanne dibianca
Organization: ebay foundation; salesforce.com foundation; seattle foundation
Location: california; international; national; silicon valley
October 8, 2017	Salesforce Ventures Launches $50 Million Impact Investment Fund
October 3, 2016	USC Receives $20 Million From Benioffs for Cancer Research, Treatment
October 6, 2014	GoPro Founders Donate $500 Million to Community Foundation
April 29, 2014	Alibaba Co-Founders Set Up Philanthropic Trusts
February 17, 2014	Tech Companies Helped Fuel Community Foundation's Growth
January 5, 2013	Silicon Valley Philanthropists Stepped Up Donations of Stock in 2012


Today, an essay I wrote on Kafka was published by Berfrois (an outstanding and popular online zine based in London, England).
Franz Kafka loved to stay on the move. He traveled and kept a travel diary. From his travel diaries, we also learn that Kafka went to spas; he liked to exercise and move his body. Like many European Jews in his generation, he wanted to be healthy and happy. But when it came to his life, his faith, and his future, Kafka didn't feel like he was making any progress.
Kafka felt he was failing to move in the right direction. Sometimes he felt he wasn't moving at all. In order to understand whether or how he could move, Kafka turned the question of movement into parable. By way of his fiction, he encountered the possibilities of movement. Kafka wondered whether fiction would enable him to move or if it suspended movement? Was Kafka, as he says in one journal entry, "stuck to this spot," or could fiction, as we see in a few of his parables and fictions, help him to transcend his location and go… elsewhere?
These parable-based meditations on movement brought Kafka face to face with failure and the possibility of madness. They prompted him to reflect and decide on whether or not to make a "bargain," as he says, with madness. This bargain necessarily affected his movement and prompted Kafka to, as he says in his journals, "cultivate" failure.
Some of the most interesting things that come out of our lives can be found in the margins. Freud – like a good detective – took marginalia seriously. An occasional or out-of-the-ordinary slip can disclose a lot more than a narrative. In fact, the hidden secret of a narrative can be found by way of focusing in on these small things in the margins. Writing, like a microscope, can reveal these small things; reading can amplify them. You and I can get a whiff of what Wittgenstein* thought about what it means to be a Jewish thinker.
Reading over Stern's essay, I noticed there are more secondary sources than primary. With this in mind, I took a look through Wittgenstein's marginalia in order to, on the one hand, subject his reflection to a, so to speak, Weinnenger test; on the other hand, I wanted to look into how, in the margins, Wittgenstein is disclosing struggles that he kept off the page.
What I do think essential is carrying out the work of clarification with COURAGE: otherwise it becomes just a clever game.
It is much harder to accept poverty willingly when you have to be poor than when you might also be rich.
The fact that Wittgenstein underlines the word "have" suggests that he saw his Jewishness in terms of a necessary impoverishment. But his "courage," which he capitalizes ("COURAGE"), is to accept this. By doing this he can take on his cultural and philosophical task of clarification. It is ethical.
Wittgenstein doesn't mind that Jews aren't "original." He sees the Jewish task of clarification as necessary for the world. The Jews can let everyone know that "everything is all right." This, for Wittgenstiein, is the essential Jewish task.
It is typical for a Jewish mind to understand someone else's work better than he understands it himself.
These words, coming from one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, who actually did introduce a "new movement of thinking," should make one pause. He was not immune to racial thinking and even thought of himself and his own work in terms of it. Because of this influence, he doubted the fact that he could be or even was original.
Since he knows his task as a Jewish thinker is to clarify with "COURAGE," one would think that the act of clarification gives him the most pleasure. But in his last marginal note of 1931, Wittgenstein tells us that he derives pleasure elsewhere.
His "strange life" is the source of his thoughts. Is that life the life of an Austrian Jew in 1931? And why would this reflection bring joy? The oddity of this reflection is that while Weininger didn't take any joy in his strangeness, Wittgenstein does. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that Wittgenstein enjoys the possibility that he – a "Jewish" thinker whose task is to "clarify" – may have had an original thought! Clarifying this possibility is a means of tapping into the strange life of a 42 year old Jew named Ludwig Wittgenstein. He lived in 1931, which was one year before Hitler took power.
The terrible historical irony is that Hitler had no need for Jewish "clarification." His "original" thought took aim at the "fact" that Jews had nothing to offer Europe: since Jews can only "reproduce" European originality, they don't have a culture of their own; and, for this reason, Hitler – like many an anti-Semite – thought Jews, Jewish artists, and Jewish thinkers are parasites. In retrospect we know, quite clearly in fact, that this racist and anti-Semitic thought about originality had devastating consequences. Even though Wittgenstein tried to turn Jewish thought toward its noble and ethical task ("clarification"), nothing, it seems, could have redeemed (or as Nietzsche might say, "transvaluated") the distinction between "originality" and "reproduction" from its racist and anti-Semitic roots.
*Wittgenstein was born in 1889 and died in 1951.
Heinrich Heine was a daring poet. Friedrich Nietzsche adored his boldness. But by virtue of the positions he took in his poetry, Heine, as a modern Jew, was internally divided. His humor, found in many of his poems, is cynical and biting. Not only does it take a shot at the German public ("the philistines") it also shoots back at the speaker.
Leo Shestov takes note of Heine's split identity and acerbic humor in an essay on German and Russian writers and thinkers entitled "Penultimate Words." What makes Shestov's criticism of Heine so compelling is the fact that he looks at Heine's poems in terms of their philosophical and personal implications. Shestov looks into what Heine's self-mocking humor makes possible or…impossible.
Shestov describes this laughter as "misplaced," "indecent," and "uselessly disconcerting." And, as I note elsewhere, Shestov puts Heine's "sincerity" in scare quotes. Doing so, Shestov alerts us that Heine's poetry trashes the possibility of sincerity and puts into question the power of affirmation.
To understand the root of this self-mockery and self-division, Shestov points out how Heine was surprised by something that ran through his soul and "split asunder the unity of his former emotions." In an interesting move, Shestov explains the implications of this sudden shift and the resulting self-mockery and self-division by way of King David's Psalms.
Shestov argues that although David's "soul was…divided," he was "able to preserve a sequence. When he wept, he could not and did not want to rejoice; when he repented, he was far from sin; when he prayed, he did not scoff; when he believed, he did not doubt"(124). However, "the Germans" (by which he means the German Romantic writers and thinkers) in contrast to the Hebrews, "thought these things were impossible and ought never to be possible. They submitted the succession of different, and even more contradictory spiritual conditions." In other words, the Germans, in his view, swayed Heine (despite the fact that he challenged them) with their belief that what David went through – vis-à-vis- his sticking to sequence despite division – was impossible.
Heine was affected by this idea; however, he turned to a cynical kind of humor to cope with it. As Heine lay on his death bed, Shestov tells us that "his sarcasms every day became more ruthless, more poisonous, more refined"(125). Seeing this, muses Shestov, one might think that all that was left to Heine was to "acknowledge his defeat and commit himself utterly to the magnanimity of the victor"(125). But who is the victor? Death or God?
The question: will Heine, on his deathbed, turn into David?
But this heaven obviously doesn't exist. The cynic has nothing to hope for and must, as Shestov suggests, be sarcastic and bitter to the very end. However, his laugh – just like his soul – is divided…to the very end not because he is above it all, but because the cynical Heine knows (as Shestov suggests, indirectly) that it is possible that he is wrong and David is right.
The stubbornness of cynical laughter may taunt the metaphysicians, the philosophers, and the Rabbis but – for Shestov – it finds its limit at death. In the face of death possibility – not certainty or cynical laughter – is the master.
In Kafka's diaries and in stories such as "The Metamorphosis," there is a struggle to move from the spot one is located in. Kafka wonders if he can move, if he wants to move, and whether he would be happy if he did. Meanwhile, he – like Gregor Samsa stuck in his room – doesn't go anywhere.
I don't want to pursue any particular course of development, I want to change my place in the world entirely, which actually means I want to go to another planet; it would be enough if I could exist alongside myself, it would be enough if I could consider the spot on which I stand as some other spot.
Kafka wonders if simply "considering" his "spot" to be a spot on another planet would be sufficient. This suggests that Kafka wants to imagine movement. He is "steadfast" in not moving but this inertia creates desire.
While I was still contented, I wanted to be discontented, and with all the means that my time and tradition gave me, plunged into discontent – and then wanted do turn back again.
Kafka admits that this is a "childish game" and is astonished at how "make believe, in engaged in systematically enough, can change into reality." But this reality, created my his make-believe games, is unhappy. He has, as I mentioned in elsewhere, cultivated failure.
If it is possible so as to force misfortune upon myself, it is possible to force anything upon oneself….I cannot grant that the first beginnings of my unhappiness were inwardly necessitated; they (the beginnings of his unhappiness) may have indeed been a necessity, but not an inward one – they swarmed on me like flies and could have been easily driven off.
But now they cannot and he hesitates. But he is actually happy that he hasn't moved anywhere: "My unhappiness on the other shore would have been as great, greater probably (thanks to my weakness)." In other words, no matter where he moves, he will still be unhappy because the "first beginnings of his unhappiness" are a part of his being. He sees himself as "put here as a child" and is "chained to the spot." This knowledge, that is too late, informs his sadness. He can't move.
Sad, and with reason. My sadness depends on this reason. How easy it was the first time, how difficult now! How helplessly the tyrant looks at me: "Is that where you are taking me!…When other people approached this boundary – event to have approached it is pitiful enough – they turned back; I cannot. It seems to me as if I had not come by myself but had been pushed here as a child and then chained to this spot; the consciousness of my misfortune only gradually dawned on me, my misfortune was already complete; it needed not a prophetic but a merely penetrating eye to see it.
Kafka is stuck on the threshold (the boundary). And consciousness keeps him there. And he tells us, at the end of his passage that he has a "right" to despair over his situation of being abandoned at the boundary and unable to move from the spot.
I must be above such mixtures of bad luck and clumsiness on my own part as the mistake with the sled, the broken trunk, the rickety table, the poor light, the impossibility of having quite….Such superiority cannot be got by not caring, for one cannot remain indifferent to such things; it can only be got by summoning strength.
And that seeing – which his writing – may be of his childish games and the fact that he can't move. Writing about failure may be his leap of faith, but then again he may still go nowhere and be "chained to this spot." Kafka – out of desperation – is willing to take this risk. If this is a leap, then it could outwits his wager with madness – which, as a "cultivating of failure," keeps him from moving. Then again, he may not have the strength to leap out of his chains. Perhaps he will remain "chained to this spot" which is….in front of the page. But, still, as Kafka notes, surprises happen and every unhappy person must accept that possibility.
We have all experienced some degree of failure in our lives. But most of us would rather not reflect on it as it will most likely cause depression and self-loathing. On the other hand, when writers reflect on failure they can, somehow, find a way to make the reflection meaningful.
In a well known letter to Gershom Scholem and in his essay on Kafka, Walter Benjamin argues that the "beauty" of Kafka's fiction is the "beauty of failure." This expression doesn't make sense. Failure is ugly, not beautiful. It's painful. How could it, like beauty, make one happy?
Kafka's diary entries show us something that his novels and short stories sometimes disclose; namely, his struggles with failure and his desire for happiness. In an entry on "crows," which I addressed recently, Kafka points out how he sees himself as a bird who can sometimes float to the heights and "waver" over the abyss of eternity. In that entry, Kafka points out that although he has no "help" in the heights, his friends offer him help in the lower realms (when he falls from the heights). Kafka says the same thing in his short story "The Investigations of a Dog." Both the bird (of the entry) and the dog (of that story) are alone and feel alienated and unhappy. That is the price of being spiritual; however, both the bird and the dog admit that friends "help" one to feel happy.
There is a certain failing, a lack in me, that is clear and distinct enough but difficult to describe: it is a compound of timidity, reserve, talkativeness, and halfheartedness; by this I intend to characterize something specific, a group of failings that under a certain aspect constitute one clearly defined failing…This failing keeps me from going mad, but also from making any headway.
Kafka's description of failure, like Benjamin's, is ironic. Failure keeps him sane. It protects him from madness! But, on the other hand, it also keeps him (like Gregor Samsa in his room) from "making any headway." Nonetheless, Kafka feels that he must "cultivate" failure because if he doesn't he will lose his mind. The word cultivation suggests that failure – for Kafka – is an artform.
Kafka must write late at night to keep from going mad. In this "bargain," he "shall certainly be a loser." But, at the very least, his failure will be beautiful. The problem is that he will not, as I noted above, move anywhere. Kafka is stuck and he is not happy.
Kafka now wonders if he will die, if he would "choke to death" on himself? He fears that the "pressure of introspection" will diminish and that he will no longer be able to reflect on his failure (or anything for that matter). He will, as he said before, succumb to madness. He can no longer wage the battle against it….by "cultivating" failure.
Mount your attacker's horse and ride it yourself. The only possibility. But what strength and skill that requires! And how late it is already!
Kafka now wants to be happy. And while he thought, before this, that cultivating failure was the "only possibility," he seems to have changed his mind. Now he reflects on nature and feels "jealous" of its happiness. Kafka rethinks the meaning of happiness and realizes how desperately he needs help.
In the past, when I had a pain and it passed away, I was happy; now I am merely relieved, while there is this bitter feeling in me…Somewhere help is waiting and the beaters are driving me there.
One girl especially (erect carriage, short black hair), and another (blonde; indefinite features, indefinite smile); the rousing music, the marching feet.
In other words, Kafka's help is found in seeing children who are simple and innocent. They are "ignorant." But he doesn't say this as a self-congratulatory intellectual who looks down on the ignorant so much as someone who realizes that simplicity of life is redemptive. The fact that he allows himself to be affected by the children helps him to survive. In his vision, failure is not cultivated.
March 19. Hysteria making me surprisingly and unaccountably happy.
April 4. How long the road is from my inner anguish to a scene like that in the yard (of children playing) – and how short the road back. And since one has now reached one's home, there is no leaving it again.
Kafka wants to leave and move but he realizes that he has to go back "home" and die alone. His failure seems to keep him from moving, again. The cowardly option – it seems – is to fight, alone, against madness through pondering and cultivating failure. It is the short road and it leads to unhappiness (or slight glimpses of the "beauty of failure"). But the long road leads him back to humanity.
Kafka is caught up in this dialectical movement (to and fro) in his stories and in his diaries.
For Kafka, it seems, literature is the space of failure (not just life); while life itself – like the ignorant children he sees in the yard -is about happiness and movement (outward). But as an intellectual and a reflective man, he must address his private failures. He may take the long road to see his friends and be inspired by children to plow forward, ignorant of what is to come; but he can also take the short road and cultivate failure so that he can deal with the anguish that eats him up inside. Either way, Kafka was always looking for what helps. The question for Kafka and perhaps ourselves is….what help is the most important and why? If it is "cultivated," failure may be beautiful; but, without friends to help or to read to, failure may only lead to deep humiliation and pain not relief.
Perhaps, as Rabbi Nachman of Breslav (who Kafka read) might say, the Clever Man needs the Simpleton (the schlemiel) who – like the children Kafka admired – has no idea of what is to come but goes toward it with happiness. Perhaps Kafka, a Clever Man, needs the schlemiel most when, in the face of death, the cultivation of failure is no longer the "only possibility." That seems to be Kafka's realization in 1921.
While the distinction between man and animal has, for millennia, been a concern for both monotheism and philosophy, the blurring of that distinction has been of interest to mythology and folklore. And as anyone who has read Franz Kafka knows, the distinction between man and animal is the subject of many of his stories. As I pointed out in my last blog with reference to the "wavering" crow and the crow who tries to challenge the "sky," Kafka used the image of animals in his diary entries as a way of understanding himself and his differences with other human beings ("crows"). What is most compelling about these entries and these stories is the fact that, as a reader, Kafka (and we ourselves) can either experience a kind of comical reflection or (as Blanchot suggests with the crows) a melancholic reflection on what it means to be a unique human being in relation to oneself, others, existence, and eternity.
Benjamin describes this as an "animal gesture" which "combines the utmost mysteriousness with the utmost simplicity"(122). This combination suggests not just an animal gesture but a mystical gesture that one might find in a Hasidic tale.
Kafka "divests the human gesture" of its traditional support so that it can become an "animal gesture" that communicates "mysteriousness" and "simplicity." These gestures are comical, not terrifying. It is only when one realizes that they are enjoying something that is inhuman that the reader – according to Benjamin – is ashamed or frightened.
Turning to Kafka's story "Investigations of a Dog," we see a comical play on this fear by way of a melancholic dog narrator. The interplay of comedy and melancholy happens between the reader and the narrator.
What, wonders the reader, have you become? Are you, a dog, now human? How are you no longer a dog? What was the "discrepancy," the "maladjustment" which kept you from being a dog?
The look of the other dog, it seems, reminds him that his "maladjustment" is shameful to look at. He tries to "keep" his despair at being found out "quiet." In other words, he wants to hide his sense of awkwardness around other dogs. However, he does tell his friends and they "help" him: "Friends, to whom I divulged them, helped me"(278).
The dog notes that melancholy helps him to live better although in truth that life is one of unhappiness.
What makes this comical is the fact that his "hopeless…indispensible little investigations" help him to live. But he is not a tragic, solitary character. He claims he is no longer a dog – by virtue of his investigations – but he still cares about dogs.
Moreover, he is proud of dogs and distinguishes them from other animals. He "confuses them" and tries to "ignore" them. He notices that other dogs "stick together" while these "other animals" do not. As the reader will note, the narrator's love and admiration of other dogs shows us that his investigations are not only melancholic. It is only when he is reminded of his "maladjustment" that he feels a "slight discomfort" which must be compensated for by way of melancholic reflections on hopelessness. Even so, he also has friends who "help" him. His anxiety is not, as Blanchot has argued, unbearable.
Rather, his gestures are closer to what Benjamin called the "mysterious" and "simple" nature of the "animal gesture" which is, ultimately, a human gesture stripped of…its humanity. Even the fact that he reflects in a melancholic manner is comedic because instead of locking him into a state of inertia, melancholia keeps him alive. And it mitigates his shame at being "maladjusted." To be sure, melancholic thought (which he calls "philosophy") makes him happy.
His melancholic kind of maladjusted individuality (cultivated by his investigations) co-exists with his admiration of other dogs and their tendency to community. But there seems to be more at stake in this dialectical tension between the individual and the community. The comical element is to be found in the precarious balance that is maintained between melancholy, friendship, fear of others (outside of his circle of friends), and admiration of others (also outside that circle). He oscillates between complexity (melancholy) and simplicity (acceptance). However, he does this in a blind way, without thinking. Because if he did and was overtaken by his "slight discomfort," he wouldn't be able to co-exist….or survive as a dog amongst dogs.
I'll end with a few possibilities: Perhaps Kafka is suggesting that if one insists that he or she is different from the rest of the species, one is making a death wish and is subscribing to a life that is utterly bitter (think, on this note, of Michel Houellebecq's novels which often include the most bitter narrators and characters). Perhaps, the blind and mysterious gesture of forgetting while remembering this difference is a (comical) saving grace. Perhaps hose who engage in cynicism – which is, traditionally, portrayed as "dog-like" – may not return to the world since the investigations of truly cynical dog and the ensuing melancholy do not bring peace so much as…more discomfort. This is an intellectual path that is dire contrast to the "animal gesture" of simplicity. It's mystery, so to speak, is comical while, for cynicism, there is no mystery. The cynic is a lost dog while Kafka's dog is perhaps too busy "investigating" to know….whether he is lost or not.
The presence of eternity is terrifying. The idea that something is there and won't go away may inspire many a mystic but it may also evoke horror. This is especially the case if that presence turns away from humankind and promises no kind of salvation. Many of us have no interest in facing this presence since it may strip us of all faith and hope. However, some modern thinkers and writers have wondered whether or how thoughts or writing itself stand up to the test and how these thoughts or jottings relate to "me." When I write, does my writing turn against me? Or does it aid me and offer me some kind of shelter against the horror of eternity?
Taking his lead from Albert Camus and Franz Kafka, Maurice Blanchot in an essay entitled "The Limit Experience," contemplates the possibility that speech, instead of guarding us against the "abject" is "something very abject and very deceptive, which is to say, once again, the desolation of hell." This speech, says Blanchot, is "strange speech." It doesn't assert any mastery over the world and, because it rejects man, is located at the "limit" of humanity.
Crows claim that a single crow could destroy the sky. This is no doubt so, but it proves nothing about the sky for the sky signifies precisely: the impossibility of crows.
And here, in this "region of experience," where Kafka reached (and where Blanchot reaches) by way of writing, it is "possible" that the "essence of man is the impossible." Blanchot is fascinated with the possibility of this region. He is attracted to it and is willing to risk his humanity to experience his nullity. He wants to experience power of powerlessness. But why would anyone want to do that? Wouldn't that be nihilistic? And wouldn't that defeat the purpose of writing? Isn't this desire for the possibility of experiencing the sky (eternity) privileging silence over speech and writing? Isn't this experience terrifying and depressing?
What will be my fate as a writer is very simple. My talent for portraying the dreamlike inner life has thrust all other matters into the background; my life has dwindled dreadfully, nor will it cease to dwindle. Nothing else will ever satisfy me. But the strength I can muster for that portrayal is not to be counted upon: perhaps it has already vanished forever, perhaps it will come back to me again, although the circumstances of my life don't favor its return. Thus I waver, continually – fly to the summit of the mountain, but then fall back in a moment. Others waver too, but in the lower regions, with greater strength; if they are in danger of falling, they are caught up by the kinsman who walks beside them for that very person. But I waver on the heights; it is not death, alas, but the eternal torments of dying.
Kafka, it seems, doesn't have a "kinsman who walks beside him" and can save him from falling. The Kafka-Bird is alone. He wavers above the eternal presence of the abyss. The irony is that he can fall down lower and live a normal life. He can turn to his best friend Max Brod or to his fiancé. He has possibilities for a full life with friends, children, and new possibilities. But Kafka seems to have chosen the path of literature and the inhuman. He seems to have chosen to waver over the abyss of eternity and the experience of powerlessness. However, if one reads him closely, we can see that he has not resolved to do this and that he entertains the possibility of a different, more human life. Unlike Blanchot, however, Kafka doesn't abandon humanity by calling all of humanity crows. For if he did, it seems that he would be abandoning all hope. Language may fail, but is there still hope for humanity?
Perhaps Blanchot omitted another possibility: the possibility of comedy and hope. To only believe in language as "strange speech," devoid of all power or comedy, is to put a limit on humanity. Rather, I would argue that it is from the limit of humanity and at the heights of failure and despair that Kafka – like Benjamin – sought for help. This other possibility – the possibility of comedy and hope – emerges within the possible experience of nullity before the sky of eternity. The sky says no to the crow's "word," but the fool says yes. However, this yes is not meant to challenge the sky; it is meant to help the bird that falls from it.


text:
The Beaver (2011)
Rated PG-13. Our Ratings: V-4 ;L -1 ; S/N –1. Running time: 1 hour 31 min.
A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
Meredith, Walt, and Beaver
Jodie Foster's newest turn at directing might remind you of Lars and the Real Girl because of its bizarre premise, in this case a severely depressed man engaging in self-therapy by means of a child's large bea ver hand puppet, hence the title. She was brave in casting Mel Gibson as the almost catatonic Walter Black because of his notoriety—and yet it is the actor's real-life instability, added to his great thespian ability, that makes his performance so compelling. The script by Kyle Killen will seem far out to many, requiring a similar suspension of belief as in the case of Lars…, but for those who can do so, the film will be a richly rewarding experience.
We first see Walter on a float in his pool with his arms stretched out to his sides. Yes, I know, filmmakers have used this crucifix posture a lot, from Whisper Down the Wind and Cool Hand Luke to Gran Torino, but as a symbol of intense suffering it reinforces our feeling for this man no longer able to cope with life. The only reason he has not lost his job as the head of a once thriving toy company is that he is its CEO, the company being a family-owned one. Because he has scarcely spoken to them in three years Walter has lost the support of his wife Meredith (Jodie Foster) and the affection of his oldest son Porter (Anton Yelchin). Walter tries yoga, meditation, group therapy, self-help books, but nothing works. (Odd that in this purported "Christian" land we do not see him trying the church, prayer, or reading the Psalms, many of the latter written by depressed souls.)
Unable to bear watching him deteriorate before her eyes, Meredith orders him out of the house. When he checks into a motel he tries to hang himself by his necktie tied to the shower curtain bar. This gives way, and we are tempted both to laugh and to feel concern as he drags around behind him the bar with the shower curtain still attached. Outside, he drops some of his possessions into a dumpster, and then returns to pull out a large hand puppet in the form of a beaver. When Walter puts the puppet on his left hand Beaver starts talking to him in a cockney accent, telling him to get a grip on himself. "I'm here to save your g.d. life," it asserts. "The question is, do you want to get better?" During all the rest of the scenes of Beaver taking charge the filmmakers make no attempt to have Gibson cover his lips so as to produce a fantasy that Beaver is really alive, and not a tool for ventriloquism.
Returning home, Walter makes contact with his youngest son Henry (Riley Thomas Stewart), the boy happy that his father has joined him in numerous woodworking projects. Meredith is dubious about the puppet, but takes Walter back anyway, only partially satisfied by his claim that his therapist has recommended a new regimen of puppet use. Only oldest son Porter refuses to have anything to do with him.
At work, Walter calls everyone together so that Beaver can announce that he is now in charge. There are a lot of befuddled looks, but the Beaver's plans of producing a series of toy woodworking kits, complete with tools, wood, and a replica of the Beaver, carry the day with them. His Vice President (Cherry Jones), energized by the new project, comes up with marketing ideas, with the result that the project is quickly produced and sent out to toy stores. The public enthusiastically buys up the kits and the Beaver puppets for their children, this now being the must have plaything. Now the Beaver-directed Walter is a success at home (except with Porter) and at work, his toy being so popular that his picture graces the covers of various magazines, and Matt Lauer interviews him on the Today Show.
However, Meredith wants Walter without Beaver. There is a funny love scene (you're right, this is not a film for children) in which Beaver is right in bed with them, never leaving Walter's hand. When Meredith insists that they dine out and leave Beaver at home, the puppet takes on a dark aspect. In an intense scene Walter even physically wrestles with and tries to strangle the domineering puppet. This sequence calls to mind the apostle Paul's description in Romans 7 of his inner conflict. Thus Beaver becomes a part of Walter's illness, a menace as much as a help.
I should also mention that almost half of the screen time is taken up by Porter's relationship with his high school class's valedictorian Norah (Jennifer Lawrence). He has written term papers, for a hefty price, for a number of his less talented classmates, so Norah, under a lot of pressure at home and school, approaches Porter for his services. She wants an ovation-inducing address for commencement. During the period of getting to know each other, the two feel a growing attraction, this portion of the film reminding me of another son and popular girl, Ricky Fitts and Jane Burnham in American Beauty—and in which Jane's father Lester is also a very depressed man. Thus Walter's story is mirrored in the story of his son, and their relationship echoes that of the father and son in a certain story of Jesus, with them both being prodigals. The consequences, bad and good, that result are moving, perhaps even tear inducing, at least for those willing to go along with the script's bizarre premise.
1. We are not given much of Walter's history showing causes of his depression, but do you think this is this necessary? What do you think Meredith has had to put up with for so many years? How is drinking an escape and a major part of his problem?
2. How might you "explain" Beaver? The saner inner voice of Walter, arising from his unconscious self? An intervention from beyond himself, even from God?
3. Compare Beaver's question "Do you want to get well?" with that of Jesus in John 5:2-18. Why is this question important? Do you think that there are some sick folk who actually do not want to get well, and if so, why would they not want to be cured?
4. And yet also what is the darker aspect of Beaver? How is Walter's struggle with Beaver similar to what the apostle Paul describes in Romans 7?
5. How is the acceptance of Beaver by Meredith and the toy company's Vice President and staff a matter of grace? Perhaps because of their affection for him? Compare this to the way the doctor, his family, and the church members accepted Lars and his relationship with "Bianca" in Lars and the Real G irl.
6. Why do you think Porter posts all the notes on the ceiling of his room? What is his biggest fear, one that drives him away from his father? How is his story similar to that of Ricky's in American Beauty—even to the point that each of them uses dubious means to acquire substantial amounts of money?
7. Depression is a major ailment for 15 million Americans. The best review of this film that explores this aspect is by long-time colleagues Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Their wonderful review, with their usual quotations from poets and authorities, can be found on their Spirituality and Practice website at: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=21082. You owe it to yourself to go and read it.
8. In the opening sequence, what does Walter do in his attempt to cure himself of depression? Why do you think that the resources of the church and Christianity are ignored? Because director Jodie Foster is an atheist, or—? (I don't know about th
e beliefs of the scriptwriter.) How does his use of Beaver show that Walter seems aware that he needs something or Someone outside himself?
9. For a few of the Psalms in which the author seems depressed, read: Psalms 68; 88; 130; 137. What resource does the writer have for coping? How might an immersion in the Psalms help Walter deal with his problem? What has been your experience with depression, or with others faced with this problem?
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