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arts & fetters
Tag: Henry James
Byron – Occasional Pieces (1810)
March 19, 2009 March 19, 2009 stephenLeave a comment
It seems particularly apt to come across this short poem today. Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew' was never something that made much sense to me, nor did Anais Nin's final rebuffing of Henry Miller, and so on, so that all those terrible things we learned would be finally obliterated by feminism, well, I begin to wonder if there's more to it than that. Do I believe in love? Yes. There is the love of a parent for his or her child, and there is the love of a man for another man or woman. And I think that covers it. Do I believe in love? Not really. I think it's mostly a struggle of power, and it just happens to find an easy vehicle for cruelty when everyone is so desperately exposed. One year ago I had spend significant amounts of time in a cockroach filled shoebox of a bathroom watching a girl piss, a girl who refused to let such trivialities get in the way of conversations about Fitzgerald or Henry James, and since she also refused to let such trivialities like eating get in the way of her drinking, well, I saw her drink for six days straight without eating so much as one bite, and we would spend the nights sneaking cigarettes in my room after her boyfriend fell asleep and we'd sneak away from him. We grew close by drinking in the middle of a country road while the moon was large, surrounded by dark farms, and when trucks would come barreling down the road we would hold on to each other, determined not to move, determined, until the absolute last second when, holding on to each other, we'd save each other's lives by flinging ourselves away from the middle, roll into the dirt. When we came back, everyone was angry at us, they'd all waited up, we couldn't feel our bodies, and they never had any idea of what we really did when we went out there that night, their imaginations ended at the word sex. We were really out there discussing how unfair it had never been necessary that any of them had to work for anything in their whole lives. She knows how to love, I think. I've seen her love. She proposes to me at least once a month.
"For the record," I tell her, "I haven't been answering or returning your calls for the past two weeks for a reason. It hasn't just been ignorance."
"Really?!" she asks excitedly.
"Yes. We can discuss it another time."
"Tell me!"
"It's because last time we spoke you went on a drunken tirade and said things that were entirely unacceptable."
"Oh, it's because I told you to dump that bitch, I mean, she's not a bitch, I'm sorry, she's not, but it's because I was telling you to dump her. I'm sorry."
"That wasn't all you said."
"Oh shit! Really? Well, I was drunk, how can you expect me to be liable for–"
"You're always drunk! Always! So you have to be liable for your words, because that's your normal state of being."
"Okay, okay, what did I say?"
"We're not discussing it right now. But you broke some of my rules, and if you do it again you can be damn sure you'll never see my face again."
"Okay. I'm so sorry. I don't know what I said though. Do you still love me?"
"Of course I still love you."
"And you'll still marry me?"
"You and everyone else. Why is it that the only people who want to marry me are in danger of liver failure before hitting age 28?"
"And kidneys for me too!"
"You're all going to fucking die, and just leave me, helpless and alone and unloved because I'm the unlucky one. Many years ago I had a dream that I was being shot, and my feet were attached to the floor and I couldn't fall, and I desperately wanted to die, I hated being shot so much, but until I fell over I couldn't die, and I couldn't fall. I'm afraid it's true."
"We still have time left. Think about it, k? I'm serious. We would never be really in love, but, but we'd still be amazing."
I came to believe that love was emotionally about punishment, practically about money, and now, I'm quite sure, it's about power. It's a thought that doesn't escape me when I see how my dogs love me, how devoted they are to me, and I try not to remember that it's because they fear me, because I hold power over them, and it's not love: it's subservience. But they don't understand how I feel about them.
"Does being around your mother make you happy?"
"Not…really."
"Then fuck her."
"What do you mean? Should I call her and say fuck you?"
"Just fuck her!"
"Just forget about her. If she doesn't make you happy, why keep her around? Why keep anyone around if they can't provide you with something."
"That's a fucking heinous thing to say."
"…you know, you're right."
Do I believe in love? No. Do I believe in friendship? Yes. Do I believe in firewater? Even more than I believe in friendship.
And now, the poem that spurred this whole mess:
The spell is broke, the charm is flown!
Thus is with life's fitful fever:
We madly smile when we should groan;
Delirium is our best deceiver.
Each lucid interval of thought
Recalls the woes of Nature's charter;
And he that acts as wise men ought,
But lives, as saints have died, a martyr.
1810 is fascinating year as far as his "occasional pieces" are concerned, because there are so few of them as compared with years prior and years following. At first I figured he was perhaps writing Childe Harold's Pilgrimage while on his travels, but there's no evidence of such speculation, so I have otherwise no answers. What's particularly noteworthy during this period is that he's a perfect poetic upstart, perhaps in the wake of English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, perhaps merely because he felt himself living in the golden age of mythology, making use of his classical education, "Ζωή μου, σᾶς ἀγαπῶ," and making full use of all his 2,000 parts.
Well, so it goes, Byron died alone, Shelley died essentially estranged from his wife, Keats died without ever making love to his lover, the political revolutions all failed except in Greece, the sexual revolutions gave way to stifling victorianism, what was radical became obscure, what was sublime became quaint, what was humanist became theist. What hope have I now?
March 8, 2009 June 8, 2016 stephenLeave a comment
Visiting cities used to exhaust me utterly, until last spring when, as recorded here, I think, I gave New York a try with a goal of being drunk the entire time, and it worked out, and since then I've had no problem with cities at all. Little towns, like the one Manny lived in in Connecticut, they're easy to digest, there's a single coffee shop, and an ATM, and really not much else that I can remember. That town is mine, I might never go there again, but I'll be there always, nothing will change in it without my knowledge, because nothing will change.
Chicago means these things to me: one of my favorite bands is Chicago. The Smashing Pumpkins came from there and I don't really like the Smashing Pumpkins except for that one album. Upton Sinclair. Hemmingway and his story about the option to cross the lake to Canada as a means to avoid the draft. Isabel Archer. Characters in Gatsby. Capone. Michael Jordan.
Going to a new city is like watching minor surgical procedures under local anesthesia, it happens, it happens to you, and you don't feel a thing. I overcame this in France by walking. I suppose spending the past month or so that I've been back mostly sleeping has atrophied my legs and feet and I just didn't notice until I set out on Friday morning to see what this city was really about. I will say that United Express is a wonderful airline, I was thrilled with them. And then the El to reach Chicago from O'Hare was a depressing experience, very bumpy and slow, I was quite sure I'd have to get off and have a rest, but I made it okay.
I walked around trying to find someplace to eat, and happened upon the Juicy Wine Co. whose website makes it seem as if they actually serve food, but as far as I could tell all they had was wines and dried meats. Of course, I went because I thought it must be some exciting new creation, "Juicy Wine"–so I went in, and I think I was the only person who didn't work there, and they all looked at me and I said, "so…what is it?"
[they give an answer]
"So…it's not anything…novel?"
"Well, we've been here for two years, I'm surprised you haven't heard of us."
"I just got here today."
"Oh. Well, you should go upstairs, people like the upstairs."
And with everyone looking at me, waiting for me to order, I just, what a douche, ordered some tea, a black tea I'd never heard of before, with hints of chocolate, and the truth is I wanted so much they offered but I couldn't afford any of it.
I've got to remember to get a DNA sample from my dog, I feel like she's suddenly gained some perspective on time and mortality, the expression on her face is always horrifying now, as you can tell she can't decide if she's done enough with her life, if she was happy, if those two times she made love to another dog could have been better, probably, because she never loved him, wondering where the rest of her children have gone, has she run enough? does she regret the time she jumped through the car window? is she embarrassed about her son? as the cancer spreads through her body is she truly content with the course of her life? her near brush with fame as she took on the Westminster Kennel Club show, flown all over the country for special training as a champion, my sweet little dog, she doesn't even smell so bad. Yes, my darling, I will clone you, I will clone you as soon as I have the money, and I'll make a new clone of you every year so that each time one of you kicks the bucket I won't even really notice, it'll be wonderful, you'll all have the same name and when I shout it all twenty of you will come running to say hello to me, you were my first best friend, and all eighty of you will be my last, don't eat each other when i die.
So the following day I walked only ten miles–it felt like more–but that's probably because I was wearing Italian leather dress boots. Some seven miles into the journey a man said "shoe shine" as I walked by, and I thought to myself, "asshole," before walking another ten steps and the sudden recognition that maybe he wasn't criticizing me, but was rather offering me something. I spun around and asked how much. He smiled and opened the door as he said $5, more expensive than at the airport, but…hell, he was in better shape than the old men who work at the airport.
"Are you married?" he asked.
"Have you been to Mexico?" he asked.
"Are you here for business?" he asked.
"Where did you get these shoes?" he asked. Ah, now, finally, a subject I enjoy.
"Ah, yes, you'd find shoes like these in France, in Spain, in Italy. And they cost you a lot?"
"No, not so much."
"$200?"
"60-some euros."
"They'd cost over 200 if you bought them here. I know this because I'm also a shoemaker."
"Do you see this style of shoe often?"
"Oh no, that's why I asked where you got them. You don't see these here."
And he shined them up shinier than when I bought them, so shiny that they look like Marine dress boots, so shiny that I can see my reflection in them. And then I continued on to the Art Institute to see their two paintings by Watteau, but they were closing, so I continued on to where I was heading…
i chose Clark Street because it looked most interesting, as if I might see the most on it, and it took me past Wrigley Field, whose name in my youth I was proud to know, and if I could have seen a game there, I would have, I've never been near a major-league stadium before. And, most importantly, the site of the Valentine's Day massacre. The old buildings are torn down now, and it is only a parking lot, but…as I stood there and looked through the gates, it still doesn't look like the surrounding area, there's something darker about it, more run-down and horrific, my favorite place in the whole of the city I saw, buildings close together in ways physically impossible, a shroud of ignorance to the warmth and sunshine of the day, it was somehow delightful, somehow precisely what I wanted to see. As I continued walking I thought of how I swear I saw the garden of eden in a forest I was camping in as a boy, nobody else was around, but the image is so clear in my memory, I wonder if I was lying to myself then, and also now.
I've never seen so many cemeteries–like driving out of Brooklyn and just driving and driving for ages through that cemetery the highway traverses, everything about New York suddenly makes sense when you see that cemetery, everything about the world makes sense. In Chicago people die also. I would be on that schoolbus taking me to camp and the girl sitting next to me would say "if you breathe while we pass the cemetery ghosts will enter your body." I don't know why that's such a scary thing to a child, to have a ghost enter your body, because I don't know that I'd much mind it now, but, in any case, I would hold my breath, and even as I passed the cemeteries, hungry, and all these wonderful restaurants, I figured it might be a bad idea to eat in front of a cemetery. There are signs saying that out of respect for the dead you cannot allow your dog in the cemetery, there's a sign saying out of respect for the dead you cannot allow your dog in the Vietnam War memorial. I went to a coffee shop and called Joe to see if he was in town, but he wasn't, but we were talking when I guy sat down next to me and began talking rapidly about Chris Brown being sent to jail for committing only three felonies, what the fuck, if every time someone committed three felonies he was sent to jail, hell, everyone would be in jail, well, I don't fucking care, what's this word mean? Gouge? What's that mean? Does that mean to hit? And I sit there with Joe yapping to me in one ear about what he's going to do with the arts community of Cleveland, as their guru, and in the other eat this guy yapping about beating the shit out of his grandma and how, well, who fucking cares about Chris Brown because he's my rival and if he's in jail I can finally just take his place, good riddance, I'm a singer, hey, look, look man, this guy here, he's an actor, he's got a show, I'm an actor too, I'm a singer and a rapper and an actor and I had an audition for a TV show yesterday and the secretary in the lobby said I probably did well so I'm expecting them to give me a call anytime now, I'm feeling pretty good about all that. Joe's conversation finished, and this guy keeps talking, telling me his life story, crack-addict mother, father in prison, what it's like to be young, gifted, and black in America, hell, he's been everywhere, he almost got strangled to death by Luther Vandross's men because when they introduced him to the Temptations he was all like "so what? what are you gonna do for me?" And then he mentioned he was gay. And it all became clear. This guy wasn't looking at me like a person, actually, he wasn't looking at me like an ear, he was touching my arm because he was looking at me like a piece of meat. I don't mind being hit on, okay, I've always minded being hit on in the past, and this time too, I hate being hit on, but that's because the right person has never hit on me. There you have it. So now, I have this grand-matricidal guy who wants to stick his penis in me, and he's cried twice, and he's been talking to me for over an hour, I mean, Jesus, how many fucking lame stories can he possibly have if he's only been alive for 22 years? And suddenly, thank the good lord, I get a business call about some freelance work I've been doing, actually, more like an advertisement calling to make sure I understand how to use their product and let me know about specials. I take the call and the guy runs out to smoke a cigarette with his friend, a big Native American who's been trying to come in and keeps getting shooed out by my new friend. There's no way to escape–he's got me cornered in here, no back door, and he's standing in front of the only exit. I get my scarf on and pack my bag. His scary friend comes in and demands "____wants your information."
"My information. Right. Do you have a pen?" And I write down a fake name and number. When I leave my new friend takes my hand and won't let it go, he hands me a piece of paper with endless ways to contact him, tells me to call anytime. "Well, I'll be in town for two weeks, so you call me too" I tell him. He says, I should probably let you go, but he still doesn't drop my hand, and he asks if he can come see me perform tonight. "I wish you could, but we're sold out tonight."
"Can't I just…you know, drop by?"
"There's fire regulations, and the doorman won't let you in, there's already too many people, you know, fire regulations, we'll get in trouble."
"When can I see you?"
"Sunday, 3pm."
I'd be a thousand miles away by then. He dropped my hand and I scampered off and turned the first corner and then hurried down alley after alley, searching closely for any signs of black people…terrified of blacks because…one wants to make love to me. I tell my brother this and he begins listing rules for when you're allowed to shoot somebody legally, and how it's against the law to fire warning shots. You say "leave me alone I have a gun." you pull it out. and if he still doesn't turn his back, you kill him. "i've been trained to put two shots to the chest and one to the head before he even hits the ground…that's also illegal outside the military. when you fire, you do so for one reason: to thwart an attack. once the danger has passed, any injury you inflict is entirely illegal." a few blocks down i got back onto Clark and continued my wonderful journey through the heart of Chicago!
As I crossed over to the 'miraculous mile' or whatever they call it, I grew cold, my feet hurt, and I realized I could separate myself from the pain, I could stand up straight, walk normally, and despite the pain, actually my socks were bloody in multiple places when I changed them later on, I could be apart from it because it didn't frighten me, but this feeling of dread came over me, a vast feeling of aloneness, that hasn't quite subsided yet, I feel as if I'm standing over the abyss that is time and waiting for it to close, or shake, or smoke, or something, anything, and rather, I'm just getting older as I wait. I walked the rest of the way. I spent most of the weekend panicky because a stomach flu was going around and I've been trying to figure out if it's a message from god, and if so, what's the message? And everyone probably thinks I've lost my marbles, which I have, but…well, I was on edge, Chicago, on edge.
Here, I'll end on a positive note. Everyone was really friendly. That's how the midwest is, friendly, which I find creepy, I'm so used to coldness. Actually, the only person who was unfriendly was still only unfriendly in a friendly-sarcastic way. It went like this, at 1am as I checked out from CVS and, since they didn't give me a bag, I was in the process of taking one for myself, and the checkout guy said.
"Oh, you wanted a bag."
"I thought maybe you wanted to save the environment."
"At first I did, but then I remembered I have quite a long way home."
"You have a long way home. Right. That makes sense. A long way home. So you want a bag. Yeah, okay."
Otherwise, everyone was friendly. In fact, the guy sitting across the aisle from me on the plane home wouldn't shut the hell up. He'd wait for me to blink my eyes open or reach for a gummy bear or something and begin asking me inane questions to which I'd provide vapid answers and try to shut my eyes again. And then while we were out for dinner last night the guy sitting next to us begged us to let him tell his story, because he'd just now been released from jail and was getting some dinner and his girlfriend wouldn't even come home from the arcade to see him, and he had to tell his whole boring story. And even after his story was finished and we'd all agreed it was a wonderful story he should call the newspapers with, and then turned back around, he insisted on telling us more. What I mean is that everyone is friendly, in the whole world, the whole goddamn world is friendly, and there's a great big cloud over my head, and I check my face for wrinkles, I love showering.
Chicago is a nice city, and I wouldn't mind living there. But there's something about the coast that makes me feel more comfortable, as if when the apocalypse comes I'll be able to escape the wrath of god quicker if only because the ocean's an hour away and i could always swim to france if satan gave me magic powers!
Show: Circus Folk Unite!: Zoomorphia (2008)
April 7, 2008 June 9, 2016 stephenLeave a comment
Hampshire College, 5 April 08.
We were hanging our bodies off the side of a railroad bridge, the gorge swaying beneath us, we had taken a long walk, and I came to realize during these days all the things I needed in life, and when I returned to school I went straight to the dance department and told the head of it that I wanted to change my course of study from English to dance, because I want to sing and dance, and that's all I want to do, and I want to do it forever, because nothing makes me feel more pleasure. Perhaps there's one other thing: and that's song and dance with someone else, improvised, that, as if in a musical, begins without warning and ends, breathless gasps. It reaches a point at which I know the taste and scent of a person just by his or her words, I ask you, how did this, a most beautiful relationship, begin? Wasn't it by a cigarette, as we shivered in the moonlight, cursing and praising Henry James? But it isn't just words I need, though I need them, it's your whole life that I need, and it needs to be as fascinating, if not more so, as mine. And one more thing–you need to know how to touch me, which means you need to know how to read me, it means you must be conversant a language you've never spoken, and it means I'll be reading you very carefully and playing the same games I do in language–and this is why the only mistakes I make, I know they're mistakes before I begin. The human body is meant to move, the voice is meant to sing, one can tell another's profession merely by the inflection of his speaking voice, and I can hear your future in the way your "hello!" jumps up major seventh and back down, and why I worry when you say it with a minor third. I have mentioned this before, but through the years I've heard various ideas that, when grouped together, indicate that when prose is insufficient, one creates poetry, and when poetry is insufficient, one sings, and when song is insufficient, one dances. And that is why dance must necessarily comprise language, why a jazz soloist must know the words, why a poet must understand grammar…
It was only recently that I heard the term "circus arts"–and soon found myself listening to Fellini soundtracks by Rota, recognized how enthralled I am by movement alone, and how one can sweep across the gradients to reach movement that will render pedestrian that which is common (hahahahahahaaha), I mean there is movement that imitates life in such a way that life outside the dance becomes more precious, because somehow we are capable of this ourselves, somehow we are part of this greater world, are being imitated, if only we could find a way to reach back into our own natural movements. How did we dance before we were taught to stand still? How did we sing before we learned to keep silent? How did we express ourselves before they pinioned our faces?
Not all, but some, was graceful in such a way that inspired breathlessness, there were colors, there were smiles, and sometimes a majesty, expounding through punctuation, the fluidity of the trees who make the wind, wavelets, flickering tails, eyelashes, tongues, movement that was something like the slow pounce into a cherry, rolling the stone between your teeth, the stem between your fingers…and sometimes there was movement like an inebriated gravity, lumbering and erratic, prosaic, the streets and the cities–and it becomes ever so clear to me, that while it's easy to imitate life while in the forest, the real trick is to imitate life while amongst Others.
"Julia Stiles Nipples" and other odd ways people find my blog.
New Apartment: Bathroom
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        </dependency>

        <!-- JSON serialization for Jersey with Jackson -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.media</groupId>
            <artifactId>jersey-media-json-jackson</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
            <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
            <type>jar</type>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>joda-time</groupId>
            <artifactId>joda-time</artifactId>
            <version>2.5</version>
        </dependency>

        <!--logging -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>jcl-over-slf4j</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>jul-to-slf4j</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>log4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>log4j</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
            <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <!-- SLF4J extensions -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>slf4j-ext</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
            <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
            <version>3.0.1</version>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Testing -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
            <artifactId>mockito-core</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
            <exclusions>
                <exclusion>
                    <artifactId>hamcrest-core</artifactId>
                    <groupId>org.hamcrest</groupId>
                </exclusion>
            </exclusions>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-test</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>junit</groupId>
            <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
            <version>4.11</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
            <exclusions>
                <exclusion>
                    <artifactId>hamcrest-core</artifactId>
                    <groupId>org.hamcrest</groupId>
                </exclusion>
            </exclusions>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.jayway.restassured</groupId>
            <artifactId>rest-assured</artifactId>
            <version>2.3.4</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
            <exclusions>
                <exclusion>
                    <artifactId>hamcrest-core</artifactId>
                    <groupId>org.hamcrest</groupId>
                </exclusion>
            </exclusions>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.test-framework.providers</groupId>
            <artifactId>jersey-test-framework-provider-grizzly2</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.test-framework</groupId>
            <artifactId>jersey-test-framework-core</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.core</groupId>
            <artifactId>jersey-client</artifactId>
            <version>${version.jersey}</version>
        </dependency>

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.hamcrest</groupId>
            <artifactId>hamcrest-all</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
            <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
            <version>3.1.0</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <resources>
            <resource>
                <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
                <excludes>
                    <exclude>inmemory-authentication/</exclude>
                </excludes>
            </resource>
        </resources>

        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>copy-spring-resources</id>
                        <phase>validate</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>copy-resources</goal>
                        </goals>
                        <configuration>
                            <outputDirectory>${basedir}/target/classes</outputDirectory>
                            <resources>
                                <resource>
                                    <directory>src/main/resources/${spring.config.dir}</directory>
                                </resource>
                            </resources>
                        </configuration>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
                <configuration>
                    <webResources>
                        <resource>
                            <filtering>true</filtering>
                            <directory>src/main/webapp</directory>
                            <includes>
                                <include>**/web.xml</include>
                            </includes>
                        </resource>
                    </webResources>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Is the quality of Google's search results deteriorating? Lately, there's been lots of discussion of that question. The founders of search-engine upstart Blekko, which has features designed to block spam and content-farm pages, contend that Google's results are now riddled with junk.
But for Google, the perception that its quality is in decline is dangerous–and if it really is suffering, it's potentially disastrous. Its reputation for running a really well-done search engine is the foundation of everything else it does; if it loses that, everything else is at risk. In a worst-scenario, it might be like the sad story of Dell, which–perceptionwise, at least–went from being synonymous with excellent tech support in the 1990s to a byword for mediocre customer service in this century.
So it's interesting to see Google spam fighter Matt Cutts address concerns in an Official Google Blog post today. He says that the company has noticed a "slight uptick" in spam recently, and that it's heard "loud and clear" that people are concerned about low-grade content generated by content farms. (Cutts doesn't mention any content farms by name, but Demand Media–the parent company of eHow and other sites–and Yahoo's Associated Content are two prominent ones.) He also denies that the fact that spammy and low-quality sites often exist primarily to serve up Google ads has anything to do with their prominence in Google results.
The fact is that we're not perfect, and combined with users' skyrocketing expectations of Google, these imperfections get magnified in perception. However, we can and should do better.
So how satisfied are you with Google's search results these days?
I have been using Google long before Google was cool and I have noticed a tremendous amount of Spam showing up in search results.
It happens gradually so the average user doesn't realize how pervasive it has gotten.
I made the habit of always skipping the first few google search results. It's almost automatic, sort of like when I see a 2.99 price I always read it in my mind as 3.


text:
Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice
Hidden corner of Venice
A few days ago I wrote about the wonderful experience of visiting Atelier Pietro Longhi in Venice.
On the same day, Raffaele Dessì, PR and event organizer of the Atelier, took me also to visit the stunning Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, where at the moment you can also view the beautiful exhibition Storie di Moda, an historic costume display of incredible high quality. All of the costumes were designed and created by Francesco Briggi, the mind and soul of Atelier Pietro Longhi.
Even though this is their busiest period of the year, Carnival time, Raffaele very kindly took most of the day off to show me around the Scuola and the Exhibition.
Today I am going to tell you about the Scuola, simply because there is so much to say about my experience with Raffaele, which a post is not enough!
On our arrival we were met by Jelena Ivanisevic, the architect at the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, a delightful lady, very knowledgeable, funny and passionate about the history of the complex. It was an honour talking to her: she literally made the Scuola come alive, with all the anecdotes and stories she told us!
But let's start from the beginning!
Photo by Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista
Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista
The magnificent monumental complex of the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista is located in the sestiere of San Polo, the smallest of the six sestieri of Venice, a quiet place with a very particular connotation, inside a small beautiful courtyard.
It almost seems to have been enclosed in this courtyard to be defended and protected, with its imposing portal full of beautiful Renaissance sculptural decorations, built by the Bottega dei Lombardi.
Entering the small courtyard and crossing the portal, one almost has the impression of being transported to another era, leaving behind tourists and souvenir shops, and being welcomed by architectural and decorative works of great artistic value telling the glories and the atmosphere of an aristocratic Venice.
First of all, though, let me explain you what a Scuola Grande is!
What is Scuola Grande?
Scuola Grande is the term with which, in the ancient Republic of Venice, was indicated a confraternity or association of lay citizens who, inspired by the principles of Christian charity, dedicated themselves to mutual material and spiritual assistance and religious practices related to the devotion of their patron. (Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, Guide Marsilio)
Among the numerous schools were the six Great Schools: Misericordia, San Giovanni Evangelista, Carità, San Marco, San Rocco, San Teodoro, to which the Carmini were later added.
After the fall of the Republic in 1797, the schools were suppressed by Napoleonic edict in 1807, but during the nineteenth century some, including San Giovanni, were reconstituted.
The one of S. Giovanni, constituted in 1261, is the oldest one among the School, which are still active in Venice.
Saved from destruction by Venetian citizens in 1857, it became the headquarters of the Society for the Building Arts, resuming its role as a Confraternity.
In over seven centuries, tons of history lived through these walls: artists of great talent and fame have embellished it with masterpieces of great magnificence which can all be admired by visiting the Halls of the whole complex.
The Brotherhood of the Flagellants
The Scuola was founded by the Fraternita di Frari Battuti, the Brotherhood of Flagellants, in 1261 and it officially moved its headquarters in today's location in 1301. From here it also took its current name, Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, from the church dedicated to St John, which now houses the confraternity.
The flagellants were a Catholic movement made up of various religious sects during the Middle Ages, which remained active from the 13th to 15th centuries, characterized by the practice of self-flagellation in public. Flagellation was a form of penance and devotion employed by numerous religious orders. When the custom fell into disuse, the word assumed the moral sense of afflicted. (Wikipedia)
The Brotherhood carried out charity work and assistance, especially by managing the hospice and attending religious rites.
The Brotherhood of the Flagellants was made up of Venetian people from all walks of life: merchants, artisans. To become a member you had to be male, Venetian born and over 20 years old.
The brotherhoods of the time constituted societies of a working nature, and therefore had capital that accumulated over the years thanks to the commitment of the members. Right from the start the confraternity was placed under state control by the famous Council of Ten, one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice.
…it gave tangible financial support, almost of a banking nature, to the treasury during emergency situations (public loans). The activities of the Scuola were all directed by a close circle of members, the Banca, elected by the General Chapter of brothers, which took in various institutional offices that are still partly covered by the existing Capitolo di Banca e Zonta. (San Giovanni Evangelista – Guide Marsilio)
The arrival of the Holy Cross
The most important moment in the life of the Brotherhood was the moment the French Knight Philippe De Mezières, grand chancellor of the Order of Jerusalem and Cyprus, a Templar Knight, donated, in 1369, a precious fragment of the Holy Cross.
Thanks to this donation, which obviously helped to increase the religious prestige of the Scuola, and also to the increased number of brothers and financial resources, the Confraternity, in 1444, built its own monumental complex. It took over three hundred years and was built by the Bottega dei Lombardi, the famous Lombard architects.
With Venice under the rules of the French, in 1807 a Napoleonic decree prohibited any kind of brotherhood or lay association, so the Scuola transferred its assets to public ownership. The Austrians took over from the French in 1844 and Venice risked the destruction of the school and the transfer to Austria of the floor of the Hall. The Complex was turned into a public warehouse for works of art.
Then in 1855 Gaspare Biondetti Crovato founded the Pia Societa per l'acquisto della Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, constituted by 83 Venetian private business men who bought from the Austrians the Scuola for 30,000 Austrian Liras, preventing the demolition of the building.
Many years later, in 1929, the association decided to take back its original name and in 1931 Pope Pius XI gave it the honorary title of arch confraternity.
Visiting the Scuola
On your arrival you will first visit the Sala Delle Colonne, the Hall of the Columns.
Sala delle Colonne
It takes its name from the five large stone columns placed along the middle of the room supporting the long gigantic wooden beam bearing the exposed ceiling beams. The vast environment was intended for the reception of brothers and pilgrims and still retains the medieval appearance of the fifteenth century.
In 1498 the School decided to have a new staircase built. Mauro Codussi, from Bergamo, was called in to create a monumental staircase with two flights, which is accessed by two large Renaissance portals. He created a true masterpiece: the Scalone Monumentale. The lack of space, due to the proximity with the Rio di San Giovanni, was obviated by the ability of Codussi. The perspective lines of the ramps create the illusion of a depth greater than the real one.
Its double-ramp structure welcomes and enchants visitors by offering a unique view of perspective games as it leads to the Hall of St. John or Chapter Room
Sala Capitolare or Hall of St. John or Chapter Room
From the elegant monumental staircase you have access to the main environment of the Scuola Grande. An extraordinary and prestigious setting by Giorgio Massari who between 1727 and 1762 made important contributions to the previous fifteenth-century hall.
The room is lit by 12 oval windows and in addition to being of considerable size, 11 meters in height, it presents a series of paintings on the walls that tell episodes of the life of St. John the Evangelist and on the ceiling scenes of the book of the Apocalypse. The altar, on the back wall, with the statue of the Saint in the act of writing his Gospel and the extraordinary nature of the floor, the shapes and the color of the marbles, make this room an absolute masterpiece that will leave you breathless.
Oratory of the Cross
Here is stored on the altar the precious relic donated by the chancellor of the kingdoms of Cyprus and Jerusalem, Philippe de Mezières, to the Scuola Grande in 1369.
In the reliquary placed on the top of the relic, there are some fragments of the cross on which Jesus died. On September 14 of each year there is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, a celebration with a solemnized procession, of great value for the school.
The Albergo
The place where the meetings of the governing bodies of the School were held. Between 1496 and 1501 some of the leading painters in Venice were called to create a series of canvases to decorate the Albergo to celebrate the Miracles of the Cross.
Gentile Bellini painted three canvases, two Giovanni Mansueti, one Vittore Carpaccio, one Lazzaro Bastiani and one Benedetto Diana; a ninth, a work by Perugino, has not been preserved. The whole cycle can now be admired at the Gallerie dell'Accademia.
In the 1500s also Titian intervened, painting the Vision of St. John the Evangelist for the ceiling of the Sala dell'Albergo, now at the National Gallery in London.
The four large canvases by Jacopo Palma il Giovane (1581 – 1582) are extraordinary.
The Scuola Grande today
Nowadays the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice is a unique place of its kind.
Ideal to host congresses, major events but also exhibitions and gala evenings, the location can give prestige and magic to every event organized here.
Divided between small conference rooms, large halls, a church and an exhibition space, the structure is located on a space of over 2,000 square meters, spaces all characterized by frescoes or fine finishes. It also has spaces suitable for catering.
The Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista Museum is open to the public on days when the usual congress activities are not carried out.
To check on the opening times, simply go and visit their website- you can book a guided tour too.
Thank you again Raffaele and Jelena for the wonderful and instructive visit…I will be back for sure!
#venice #veniceblog #veniceblogger #scuolagrandesangiovannievangelista #venicehcurch
Categories: All about Venice, Information about Veneto, Italy: what to do & to see, Pictures and Videos of Venice and Veneto, Practical things for visiting Venice, The History of Venice, Travel, Venice:things to do & see, Venice's Churches
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


- Click on the Tournaments button to open the tournaments panel.
- The Tournament panel displays the current and upcoming Tournaments and shows detailed information on each one.
- Click on a Tournament in the list to open its lobby.
- Once you've found a tournament, click on the big blue 'Enter Now' button in the top right to enter.
- When the tournament starts games will open automatically for you to play.
- You can also invite friends to the tournament with the "Invite Friends" button.
- Follow your progress in the tournament by using the yellow tabs. View the standings by clicking on "Leaders", or watch the Tournament games by clicking on "Games".
- Click on the play button to select what type of game you want to play. By default, you will see the seek list, however you switch to a graph view by clicking on the "Graph" tab. Edit your game preferences. When you're done click 'seek'.
- You will see potential opponents who closely match your settings. Click on the opponent you want to challenge.
- 'Quick Match' will automatically match you with an opponent, and start the game.
- During the game you have the ability to offer a draw, resign, abort in the first two moves, take-back, flip the board or copy the moves to your clipboard.
- After the game you can offer to have a rematch against your opponent.
- You can easily watch a game by clicking on the Watch button.
- You can also see a list of live games by clicking on the tab 'Live Games' when you are in chat rooms.
- Select the leader board you would like to view. You can also display hourly, daily, weekly and monthly leader boards per type.
- You can also choose to have the leader board display the top results for your friends only.
- You can quickly add friends by clicking on the Friends button, then 'Find Friends'.
- You can view how well you are doing against your friends by reordering your friends list.
- You can order by 'General Rating', 'Tournament Rating', 'XP Level' or alphabetically.
- Click on the search icon to find friends.
- You can search friends by their name, username or email address.
- Come say "hi" to your fellow Cubers! Click on the rooms icon to view a list of chat rooms. Join the room by clicking on it.
- Click on the shopping cart icon, this will open the store.
- Browse through the items available through the categories.
- Click on the "Buy" button to purchase an item. The item you buy will be put in your inventory.
- Click on your avatar (picture icon) in the top right to open view your profile menu.
- Your profile menu contains your overview, inventory, stats and past games, and the log out button.
- This is where you can track and use the items that you have bought in the store.
- Here you can see a list of your past games.
- Click on a game to view it.
- Track your performance as you play.
- ChessCube has 2 currencies that you can use to play games, tournaments and buy items in the store.
- Complete the 6 tasks in the progress bar, and earn bonus Cubits! Once all tasks have been completed, the progress bar may be closed.
- This shows what your current level is. The more games you play and tournaments that you compete in, the faster you'll progress through the levels!
- General rating shows your rating level from games that you play.
- Playing in Tournaments affects your Tournament rating.
- The message bar will keep up to date with all the news about your friends, top games, tournament information, and ChessCube offers and specials, and many more!
- You may choose to close the message bar while playing a game or Tournament. To drop the message bar while playing, simply click the expand board button in the game. This setting will be remembered.
- ChessCube VIP members may permanently close the message bar.


text:
Home personal finance State pension age changes: Could you work to 75? Government does NOT...
State pension age changes: Could you work to 75? Government does NOT deny think tank idea
The state pension age is currently rising, with this set to reach 66 for men and women by October 2020. Further changes mean it will then increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028. Under current law, the state pension age was due to increase to 68 between 2044 and 2046. Following a review, in 2017, the government announced plans to bring this forward, to between 2037 and 2039.
A new report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), fronted by former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan-Smith, has proposed accelerating the plans.
According to the report, the suggestion comes in a bid to boost the UK economy.
It proposes a major overhaul of the state pension age, raising it to 70-years-old within 10 years, by 2028.
The think-tank has also suggested raising the age again to 75-years-old by 2035.
The CSJ said the plans are required in order to "reduce involuntary worklessness" and would help the older generation "access the benefits of work".
It also said that working longer "has the potential to improve health and wellbeing, increase retirement savings and ensure the full functioning of public services for all".
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stated that every workers' state pension age is "unique to them", and highlighted that the proposal has not been made by the DWP.
The DWP also said that the government is working towards "creating opportunities for people of all generations".
A spokesperson for the DWP told Express.co.uk: "Everyone's State Pension age is unique to them and in 2017 we raised the future retirement age to 68 so that it is sustainable now and for future generations.
READ 8 ways shops trick you into buying more
"We're creating opportunities for people of all generations with record employment."
Andy Cook, CSJ chief executive, said: "Working longer has the potential to improve health and wellbeing [and] increase retirement savings…
"Right now, we are not doing enough to help older people stay in work, and the state pension age doesn't even closely reflect healthy working life expectancy…
"By increasing the state pension age, we can help people stay in gainful and life-enhancing employment while also making a sound long-term financial decision."
However, Jan Shortt, National Pensioners Convention general secretary, said: "There is no way we'd support working until you are 70."
Gill Moffett of Independent Age said: "It could particularly affect some of the most vulnerable people in our society, like older people who can't work due to illness, disability or caring responsibilities."
READ MORE: 'Women take on any jobs they can' WASPI on impact of state pension age changes for women
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A day late, but here nonetheless. We had a wonderful week and an even more wonderful weekend as we saw some dear friends, did some playground exploring and ended the week by spending a couple of days at the beach. Josh has gotten his first tooth and Evan is becoming sillier and funnier by the minute. I'm really treasuring every day I spend with my boys. This week I will write more about our short getaway and how I burnt my foot in some hot springs we visited while my husband kept laughing at me as he watched me scream in pain. I wish all of you a wonderful week full of blessings!
Josh being a flirt! He was hugging and kissing this little girl at his Kindyroo class. I got there too late to capture him red handed.
Swimming at a friend's house.
A monkey and his mama.
Fun at the indoor playground!
Evan putting lime on his fried rice. He has a thai palate.
Evan taking a picture of mommy while she takes a picture of him.
Mommy taking a picture of Evan.
Happy Josh at the beach.
At a hot water spring.
Evan loves Indonesian Iced Tea.
My two boys wearing matching pjs.
Your boys are soooo cute! I especially love the matching pi's!
Hi Tina. Thanks! They are a handful, but tons of fun!


text:
Royal doors
"Beautiful Gates" redirects here. For the gate in the Jerusalem Temple, see Gates of the Temple Mount.
"Holy Doors" redirects here. For holy doors in the Roman Catholic tradition, see Holy door.
Find sources: "Royal doors" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Gilded Royal Doors carved to represent the Tree of Life (Old wooden church in Chotyniec, Poland).
The royal doors, holy doors, or beautiful gates are the central doors of the iconostasis in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church.
In Orthodox Churches, the sanctuary (sometimes called the Altar, which contains the Holy Table) is separated from the nave by a wooden screen called the iconostasis. The iconostasis represents Christian continuity from the veil of the Temple in Jerusalem which separated the people from the Holy of Holies that housed the Ark of the Covenant. Normally, the iconostasis has three doors in it. The two single doors to the right and left are called "deacons' doors" or "angel doors" and they usually have on them icons of either sainted deacons (Saint Stephen, Saint Lawrence, etc.) or the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. These are the doors that the clergy will normally use when entering the sanctuary. The central double doors are the "holy doors" (Slavonic: Svyatýa Vratá), which are considered to be most sacred, and may only be entered at certain sacred moments during the services, and only by ordained clergy (deacons, priests, bishops).
Holy Doors at the old church in Sarajevo depicting the Annunciation. At top are King David and Solomon.
The term Royal Doors (Greek: Ωραία Πύλη: Slavonic: Tsárskiya Vratá) is commonly used to describe the Holy Doors,[1] because Christ passes through these gates during the Great Entrance at the Divine Liturgy (and most especially during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts).[2] More properly, however, these doors should be called the "Beautiful Gate",[3] and in Greek this is the only term used, although the official English sites of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Orthodox Church in America and the Antiochian Orthodox Church all use the term "Royal Doors". In Russia, they are sometimes called the "Red Gates", red being synonymous with beautiful.
Seventeenth-century iconostasis of Prophet Elias church, Yaroslavl. The Beautiful Gates are in the center.
Whatever its name, a typical gate consists of two hinged doors. Often they will be only half-height, but sometimes they go almost all the way to the top of the opening. The doors themselves are made of wood or metal and usually have painted on them an icon of the Annunciation in the form of a diptych (the Theotokos on the right door, and the Archangel Gabriel on the left), either alone or with the four Evangelists. Other icons may be used also. The doors may be intricately carved and gilded, and are almost always topped by a cross.
Theologically the Holy Doors represent the gates of Jerusalem, through which Christ entered on Palm Sunday. They also represent the entrance to the Heavenly Jerusalem. In the Russian practice, there are detailed rules as to when the doors are to be opened during Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy. When the gates are opened, it represents moments when God is especially present to his people, such as during the reading of the Gospel, or when the faithful are receiving Holy Communion. Most of the time the doors are closed. This is symbolic of penitence, a reminder that sin separates the individual from God.
Elaborate Holy Doors (left) in the Chapel of the Wonderworking Icon of the Theotokos of Smolensk in the Dormition Cathedral, Smolensk, Russia
There is also a curtain or veil, scored to remind that in the Temple in Jerusalem, behind the Holy Doors which is opened and closed at specific times during the services. While the veil is always open whenever the Holy Doors are opened, sometimes when the Holy Doors are closed, the rubrics call for the veil to be opened. The curtain is usually more plainly decorated. Alternatively a sliding panel depicting "Christ the Great High Priest" may take place of the doors and curtain and certain churches may have no physical barrier at all.[4]
Holy Doors depicting (from top to bottom): the Annunciation, Twelve Apostles, and Saints
Only the higher clergy (bishops, priests, and deacons) are permitted to go through the Holy Doors, and even they may only pass through them when it is prescribed by the liturgical rubrics.
During Bright Week (the week following Easter Sunday), the Holy Doors and veil remain open the entire week. During this time, the open doors symbolize the open Tomb of Christ. The Epitaphios (icon representing the burial shroud of Christ) is visible on top of the Holy Table (altar table) through the open Holy Doors as a witness of the Resurrection. During Bright Week, the clergy, who would normally use the Deacons Doors to go in and out of the sanctuary, will always enter and exit through the Holy Doors
Ornate Holy Doors at Ipatiev Monastery, Kostroma, Russia. The six medallions on the doors depict the Annunciation (upper right: Theotokos, upper left: Gabriel) and the Four Evangelists.
When a bishop serves the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Doors and veil are left open for the entire service (except during the communion of the clergy). The bishop will always pass through the Holy Doors, even at times when priests or deacons cannot. If the rubrics call for the Holy Doors to be closed, they will be opened for him to pass through, and then immediately closed again.
In addition to referring to the Holy Doors, the term royal doors can also (and more properly) refer to either of the following:
Most correctly, the term royal doors indicates the large central doors that separate the narthex from the nave. This is the formal entrance to the church proper (i.e. the nave) and was, in former times, the ceremonial entrance of the Emperor, hence the epithet 'royal'. In current use, these doors are used by all although monasteries and some parish churches use the doors liturgically as the point where the abbot or a bishop vests before making a formal entrance.[3]
A third use of "royal doors" is to indicate the outside entrance into the church.[citation needed] This appears to be a rare usage but appropriate to those churches that do not have a physical separation between the narthex and the nave.
^ Peter Day, The Liturgical Dictionary of Eastern Christianity (Burnes & Oates, 1993, ISBN 0-86012-216-6), p. 256.
^ Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy, The Law of God (Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY, ISBN 0-88465-044-8), p. 532.
^ a b Ken Parry, et al., The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity (Blackwell Publishers, 1999, ISBN 0-631-18966-1), pp. 420–421.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal doors.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_doors&oldid=876754342"
Eastern Christian liturgical objects
Church architecture
Christian religious objects
Articles needing additional references from May 2011


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According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, so far in 2018, 32 animals from Colorado have tested positive for rabies – mostly in skunks. Of those, 12 rabid animals were known or strongly suspected of exposing 33 domestic pets, 7 livestock animals, and 2 people. For statewide data, please visit colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/rabies-data.
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Milwaukee Brewers Analysis Before 2020 Season Start
Written by Henry Watkins on March 19, 2020
MLB Betting News
Under normal circumstances, we would be very close to the opening day of the new MLB season, but as it stands right now, things are very much in limbo. The coronavirus scare has had an impact on sports all across the country, with the MLS season just one of the many casualties. There is no official timeframe for a return to action, with the latest update suggesting that we are looking at a mid-May start at the very earliest. These are necessary precautions and we all just need to be a little more patient for the next month or so. For now, though, we can take some time to look ahead to when the season does start by breaking down every team in the league. For this piece, let's head to the NL Central for a closer look at the Milwaukee Brewers. Let's check the MLB Odds and World Series Odds for the Milwaukee Brewers 2020 Season.
Milwaukee Brewers 2019 Season Performance
The race for the Central Division last year was a wild one, with 3 teams slugging it out for what would eventually be a pair of playoff spots. The Milwaukee Brewers nabbed one of those laces by finishing second, 2 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals. They ended up losing 4-3 to the Washington Nationals in the Wild Card game, but this teams very much looks to be on the brink of something big if they can become a little more consistent.
In fairness to the Brewers, their season looked dead and buried when they lost Christian Yelich in September. Yelich led in just about every offensive category for the Brewers, so that they were able to get to the postseason without him says something about this squad. The Brewers hammered home 769 runs last season, while surrendering 766.
We can probably expect another tight battle at the top of the Central Division this season, and you would expect the Brewers to be right there in the thick of it.
Milwaukee Brewers Offseason Moves
The Brewers were one of the more active teams in the offseason, making moves that led to no less than 13 players on the 40-man roster from last season moving on. Of real concern here is the loss of Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas, both of whom will be playing in different uniforms this season. Between them, that pair accounted for 164 of the runs batted in by the Brewers last season, so those are some rather large shoes that need to be filled. The Brewers did not go out and spend big this offseason, which is no real surprise for a small market team. They will be looking for some veteran players to have solid seasons, while also hoping for some nice returns from the newer, younger players on the staff.
How the Bookies See the Milwaukee Brewers
Even with all the changes to their lineup, I still expect the Brewers to be challenging for the Central Division crown once we head down the homestretch. The bookies would seem to agree, as they have them at +260 and the second favorite in the Central. As far as the World Series goes, the Brewers are currently listed at +4000.
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Could it be the "Jack the lad" of contemporary mens watches? The Best Jack Spade Watch Reviews are going to help yopu find out. So come in and find out if the Jack Spade brand master your wrist! WatchiWatches presents the Best Jack Spade Watches Reviews verified by top rated owner user reviews. We have gone through the top best Selling Jack Spade watches featured in top fashion watch brands categories in the world of fashion watches for men. The Jack Spade brand epitomizes the trendy man about town who is fashionable and successful yet unique in the way he is able complete his styling and look with beautiful fashion watches from the Jack Spade stable. You can be rest assured that under the umbrella of the Kate Spade brand, the Jack Spade branding will prosper with cutting edge up to the mark fashion watches with their own unique flair and charisma well sought after in the world of fashion watches.
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What is the history of Jack Spade watches?
1 What is the history of Jack Spade watches?
2 How good are Jack Spade watches?
3 Where are Jack Spade watches manufactured?
4 What is the Jack Spade warranty like?
5 What's the prices of Jack Spade watches?
Many people think when they first here the name Jack Spade, that he might be an adventurer or fashion designer. Not quite, getting there, pretty close actually. Jack Spade is in all effects the menswear division of the famous Kate Spade fashion house brand. Like the Kate Spade watch collections, the Jack Spade watch collections offer many interesting and fashionable watch designs perfectly fusing good commerce with good design.
Jack Spade is a designer brand that most of you reading this are probably already familiar with. It is quite possible that you may already have a Jack Spade shirt, briefcase or other fashion accessories like the best selling wallets made out of cork or decorated like postcards, the camo iPhone hard case or one of those sweet sets of "Nice Parking" cards sitting on drawer as you are reading this. Now there is a lot more to Jack Spade because Jack Spade has branched out into the wonderful world of fashion timepieces.
The idea for the Jack Spade designer brand was born in the lower Manhattan loft Andy Spade shared with his wife Kate Spade. The whole concept thing was very simple in that veryday objects can start to look really outstanding and functional without exuding a pretentious aura. So there is Andy, yes, so who then is Jack Spade? Sorry do disappoint folks, unfortunately there really isn't a "Jack," per se. Kate and Andy the husband and wife team were inspired by business titan Jack Welch and Beat novelist Jack Kerouac, and felt that it would be a nice idea to build their business concept around them, while harmoniously integrating fashion, art and commerce into a world class concept.
Kate Spade & Company watches including the Jack Spade branded watches are sold through their global licencing agreement with Fossil Group to department stores, specialty retail stores, specialty watch and jewelry stores in the U.S. and in approximately 150 countries worldwide through approximately 25 Fossil Group owned foreign sales subsidiaries and a network of over 60 independent distributors. The Fossil Group also distributes its products to over 590 subsidiary retail stores via it's online platforms.
How good are Jack Spade watches?
They have launched their first collection recently in 2013 with 37 stylish watch designs that start from a little under $100 to a little over $500. The watches range from vintage to refined and casual styling coming with various movement types depending on the watch style. This all translates into there is something for everyone in Jack Spade watches collection. Jack Spade watches are sold in their own company stores as well in a number of high-end stores like Nordstroms, Saks, Barney's, Bloomingdales as well as through the Fossil Group sales and distribution network. The watches are made with top quality materials and workmanship with decent water resistance to suit everyday use and for the dive watches, water resistance is a nice and useful 100m.
Where are Jack Spade watches manufactured?
In 2015 Kate Spade & Company signed a global agreement running through to 2025 for Fossil Group for the design, development and distribution of their watches throughout its extensive global network. As of 2016 finished products were available in the Kate Spade & Company stores as well as key reatailers globally through the vast sales and distribution channels of the Fossil Group.
The Fossil Group has various production units in China and APAC region as well as in Switzerland. The Jack Spade watches feature watches some of which are made in Switzerland with precision movement, Sapphire Crystal, solid and reliable materials.
What is the Jack Spade warranty like?
What's the prices of Jack Spade watches?
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There are five categories of watches to choose from, so if you are looking for a dress, pillow tank, sports, dual time zone, diver, or whimsical graphic watch, you should be able to find one in the collection. The watches themselves have nice Swiss quartz movements, solid design and construction, saphire crystal, useful and yet minimalistic features. Some watches especially the dive watches feature water resistance up to 100m.
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The soundtrack of the previous month was exceptionally dark, both conceptually and in its atmosphere. The albums that we consider to be our favourite among the 68 releases that we listened to throughout the month, make a journey from melancholic neoclassical towards obscure extreme electronics. All of these releases put together, have created an incredibly hard-to-navigate, dark space, with impressive sonic textures and a subtle (and other times quite harsh) melancholy.


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French ship Bucentaure (1804)
For the Venetian vessel, see Bucentaur.
Bucentaure
Career (France)
Builder: Arsenal de Toulon
Laid down: 1803
Launched: 1804
Commissioned: 1804
In service: 1804-1805
Out of service: 1805 (wrecked on 23 October 1805)
Captured: 21 October 1805 (Battle of Trafalgar) - later re-captured from the British prize crew
Fate: Wrecked on 23 October 1805
Class and type: Bucentaure class ship of the line
Displacement: 1 630 tonnes
Draught: 6 m
Complement: 840
80 guns:
Lower deck: 30 x 36 pounder (16 kg)
Upper deck: 32 x 24 pounder (11 kg)
Castles : 18 x 12 pounder (5 kg) and 6 x 36 pounder (16 kg) carronades
Bucentaure was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, who died on board on 18 August 1804.
File:Trafalgar-Mayer mg 0586.jpg
The Bucentaure at Trafalgar
Vice-Admiral Villeneuve hoisted his flag on 6 November 1804. At the Battle of Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, she was commanded by Captain Jean-Jacques Magendie. Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory, leading the weather column of the British fleet, broke the French line just astern of Bucentaure and just ahead of Redoutable. Victory raked her less protected stern and she lost 197 killed and 85 wounded (including Captain Magendie); Admiral Villeneuve was lucky to survive, but this effectively put Bucentaure out of most of the fight. After three hours of fighting, she surrendered to Captain James Atcherly of the Marines from HMS Conqueror.
Villeneuve is supposed to have asked to whom he was surrendering. On being told it was Captain Pellew, he replied, 'There is no shame in surrendering to the gallant Sir Edward Pellew.' When he was informed that the Conqueror's captain (Israel Pellew) was Sir Edward's brother, he said, 'England is fortunate to have two such brothers.'
In the following days, Bucentaure's crew rose up against the British prize crew, and recaptured the ship. However, she was wrecked in the storm of 23 October 1805.
Jean-Michel Roche, Dictionnaire des Bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, tome I
Bucentaure-class ship-of-the-line
Bucentaure · Neptune (1803) · Robuste · Ville de Varsovie · Donawerth · Eylau · Friedland · Sceptre · Tilsitt · Auguste · Pacificateur · Illustre · Diadème · Conquérant · Duquesne · Magnifique · Centaure · Neptune (1818) · Algésiras · Jupiter · Vesuvio · Mars · Alexandre · Tibre · Atlas · Fougueux
Preceded by: Tonnant class · Followed by: Suffren class
List of ships of the line of France
es:Bucentauro fr:Bucentaure (navire français) it:Bucentaure de:Bucentaure
Retrieved from "http://ship.spottingworld.com/wiki/index.php?title=French_ship_Bucentaure_(1804)&oldid=3164"
French Navy ships of the line
Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Bucentaure class ships of the line
1800s ships


text:
è un manga scritto e disegnato Osamu Tezuka. Composto da 23 volumi, pubblicati in Giappone dal 1952 al 1968 sulla rivista Shonen di Kobunsha, sussidiaria della Kōdansha. Il manga ha venduto circa 100 milioni di copie, divenendo quindi un manga molto popolare. Dal fumetto è stata ricavata dal 1963 una storica e pionieristica serie televisiva prodotta dalla Mushi Productions, che fu la prima ad avere caratteristiche che sarebbero poi divenute peculiari della produzione giapponese, tanto da meritarsi il nome specifico di anime.

Il protagonista, Atom (Astro Boy/Astroboy in occidente), nacque su Atom Taishi (lett. "Atom l'ambasciatore"), un'opera precedente di Tezuka; non va confuso con Capitan Jet, personaggio molto simile ad Atom e titolare di una propria serie animata, che Tezuka sviluppò in epoca molto posteriore, rimaneggiando superficialmente le fattezze, le caratteristiche e i poteri di Astro Boy, nonché alcuni personaggi comprimari.

Astro Boy è considerato uno dei personaggi immaginari simbolo della tradizione dei manga e degli anime giapponese. La rivista inglese Empire l'ha classificato 43º nella lista dei cinquanta migliori personaggi della storia del fumetto. La prima serie anime fu posizionata all'86º posto della lista delle miglior serie animate dal sito web IGN. Alla New York World's Fair del 1964 Tezuka incontrò Walt Disney, il quale si complimentò con il mangaka per il personaggio di Astro Boy, e si disse speranzoso di poter fare qualcosa insieme un giorno.

Trama
In un mondo futuristico dove i robot convivono con gli esseri umani, Astro Boy è un bambino meccanico dai sentimenti e dall'intelligenza umani, creato dal dottor Tenma - all'epoca capo del ministero della scienza - con le sembianze del proprio figlio rimasto vittima poco prima di un incidente mortale. In quanto sostituto del figlio morto, lo scienziato lo tratta inizialmente come tale ma poi si rende conto che un robot non può colmare il vuoto prodotto dalla scomparsa del vero figlio, tanto più che Astro non può crescere. Deluso, Tenma lo vende al proprietario di un circo ma, dopo qualche tempo, il nuovo capo del ministero della scienza s'accorge casualmente del robot mentre questi si esibisce durante uno spettacolo e lo convince a seguirlo e, dopo averlo preso con sé, ne diviene tutore legale. Avendo poteri e capacità superiori a quelli della media umana, Astro diviene un difensore della giustizia contro la criminalità e i mali del mondo; la maggior parte dei suoi avversari sono esseri umani che odiano gli esseri meccanici, robot impazziti oppure invasori alieni. Finisce così con l'acquisire una famiglia di robot, frequentare la scuola come un bambino vero e lottare contro molti nemici per difendere la Terra.

Genesi del personaggio
Tezuka concepì il personaggio come una semplice comparsa nella storia Atom Taishi che venne pubblicata sulla rivista Shonen nell'aprile del 1952 ma poi gli venne l'idea di una serie incentrata sul personaggio. Il personaggio nacque con l'intenzione di creare un Pinocchio del ventunesimo secolo che fosse quindi robotico e non un burattino di legno e, al contrario di Pinocchio, doveva essere vicino alla perfezione, dotato di emotività e in grado di capire perfettamente gli esseri umani.

Poteri e abilità
Astro Boy è un automa dotato di varie capacità, nonché di potenti armi che lo aiutano a sconfiggere i propri avversari. Il robot è in grado di tradurre un enorme numero di lingue, ha una forza equivalente a quella di 100.000 cavalli, è in grado di volare grazie alla dotazione di jet integrati nelle sue braccia e nelle sue gambe, ha un senso dell'udito amplificato, è dotato di mitragliatrici integrate nel corpo, elevata resistenza fisica, un cervello elettronico, cannoni laser nelle braccia, pistole laser nelle dita, occhi dotati di vista raggi x, un cuore elettronico che può comprendere le cattive intenzioni di una persona.

Media

Manga
Il personaggio esordì come comprimario nella serie Captain Atom (Atom Taishi), edita in Giappone dal 1951 al 1952; successivamente divenne protagonista nella serie ASTRO BOY, pubblicata dal 3 aprile 1952 al 12 marzo 1968 in 23 volumi.

Per i cinquant'anni del personaggio venne pubblicata nel 2003 una terza serie, , in tre volumi realizzati da Akira Himekawa e pubblicato in Italia da Planet Manga.

Serie televisiva live-action

Nel 1959 venne creata Astro Boy, serie televisiva in live action e primo adattamento televisivo del manga.

Serie televisive anime

Astro Boy (1963)

La prima serie anime venne prodotta nel 1963 dalla Mushi Production, storico studio d'animazione di Osamu Tezuka. La serie, in bianco e nero, rivoluzionò il mondo dell'animazione giapponese e viene oggi considerata il primo esempio di anime della storia in quanto fu la prima ad avere le tipiche caratteristiche che avrebbero poi distinto questo tipo di produzioni tipicamente nipponiche. La serie venne premiata sulla Fuji TV lo stesso anno e divenne la prima serie d'animazione giapponese a godere di una grande popolarità. Divisa in quattro stagioni e composta da un totale di 193 episodi, l'ultimo dei quali trasmesso nel 1966,

Astro Boy (1980)

Dalla serie del 1963 fu tratto un remake a colori nel 1980.

Astro Boy (2003)

Una nuova serie di 50 episodi venne prodotta nel 2003 e trasmessa da Animax. Un trailer giapponese in tecnica IMAX, prodotto nel 2005, basato sull'anime del 2003, dal titolo Astro Boy vs IGZA, fu mostrato solo in Giappone.

Cinema

Lungometraggi
Astro Boy (1962): dalla serie televisiva in live-action del 1959, la MBS realizzò un film mettendo insieme parti degli episodi per una durata totale di 75 minuti con solo la sequenza iniziale del film di circa un minuto a cartoni animati;
Astro Boy: The Brave in Space (1964): lungometraggio di 87 minuti creato unendo tre episodi della prima serie animata (ep. 46, 56 e 71), diretto da Rintarō e Eiichi Yamamoto e pubblicato il 26 luglio 1964.
Astro Boy (2009): film d'animazione di produzione statunitense realizzato in computer grafica dalla Imagi Animation Studios, per la regia di David Bowers; in Italia venne distribuito il 18 dicembre 2009; il film riscontrò un buon successo di pubblico, incassando in totale 44.093.014 di dollari;

Cortometraggi
Astro Boy: Shinsen-gumi: corto animato di una serie per il Tezuka Osamu World's Tezuka Osamu Animation Theater in Kyoto (2003).

Videogiochi
Astro Boy (1988): prodotto da Konami per Nintendo Entertainment System; primo videogioco basato sul manga;
Astro Boy (1994) prodotto da Banpresto per Super Nintendo Entertainment System, il quale, come il precedente, seguiva gli eventi del manga;
Astro Boy: Omega Factor (2004): sviluppato da Treasure e prodotto da SEGA per Game Boy Advance;
Astro Boy (2004): prodotto da SEGA per PlayStation 2, basato sull'anime del 2003;
Astro Boy: The Video Game (2009): tratto da film d'animazione Astro Boy per Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 e PlayStation Portable.

Accoglienza
Nel sondaggio Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 indetto da TV Asahi,  persone hanno votato la loro top 100 delle serie manga e Astro Boy si è classificata al 39º posto.

Premi e riconoscimenti

La rivista Empire lo ha inserito al quarantatreesimo posto nella lista dei "50 più grandi personaggi della storia del fumetto", lista nella quale Astro Boy risulta essere l'unico personaggio di un manga ad apparire.

Chris Mackenzie del sito IGN inserì il personaggio di Astro Boy al n. 2 nella lista dei migliori personaggi di anime della storia.

Thomas Zoth inserì il personaggio di Astro Boy nella lista delle "10 più grandi icone della storia dell'anime", definendolo il primo grande eroe moderno di un cartone animato giapponese, sia sulla pagina stampata che alla televisione.

Nel 2014 IGN lo posizionò quarto nella lista dei più grandi personaggi mai apparsi in un anime.

Note

Voci correlate
Atom: The Beginning
Pluto

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

 Sito ufficiale di Astroboy.
 Osamu Tezuka World .
 Astro Boy e Osamu Tezuka.

Astro Boy in DVD.

Anime e manga sui supereroi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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✔ Resources and files at your fingertips.
✔ Confidential access to internal information.
If you have other questions or need more information, contact us — we're here to help.