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Favourite club
UEFA Champions League - Focus pays off for professional Chelsea - News
Focus pays off for professional Chelsea
Wednesday, 10 December 2014 by Andy Brassell & Julian Beattie
José Mourinho enjoyed the "good attitude" his Chelsea FC players showed in easing past Sporting Clube de Portugal, who acknowledged they had come up short.
Matić: We did our job
• Chelsea conclude Group G with a win that leaves Sporting third
• Nemanja Matić says, "We just did our job"
• José Mourinho: "The competition starts now"
• Paulo Oliveira says Sporting will focus on UEFA Europa League
• Round of 16 draw takes place in Nyon at 12.00CET on 15 December
Nemanja Matić, Chelsea midfielder
We played very well, like a team. We knew beforehand that we were already first in the group but we wanted to play a good game, to make our fans happy, to go into the next game in the league with confidence. So we are very happy with tonight.
[The manager] said that it doesn't matter that we are first – we have to respect football because it's about winning. We knew it too and we just did our job. When you wear a Chelsea shirt you have a big responsibility and you always have to be 100%.
Of course, Chelsea are always one of the favourites but we have many games. We will see. There are many good teams in the Champions League, big teams, so step by step we'll see if we can do it.
I said before, [Sporting] have a great team. They tried, always, to play to the end and they tried to get one more goal but we have more quality in our team and this was the deciding factor.
André Schürrle, Chelsea forward
We wanted to start really well and keep the pressure high, so with the penalty it was good for us and the second goal too. In the first half we could have scored more goals because we had the ball so often in transitions and so many chances. It was a good game from us.
We knew Sporting would fight for everything because they had to [get a point] to qualify, and that's what they did. But when you saw us in the beginning you knew what we were doing and what we had to do keep it calm. We did that well. We were defensively compact and in attack we had a lot of chances.
José Mourinho, Chelsea manager
It was a good attitude. The players were serious, the ones who were not playing a lot got a chance. The ones who are playing regularly also faced the game in the right way and we did what we had to do and deserved to win.
Chelsea were the stronger side, we played very seriously. We kept four or five regulars and the players that don't always play like Schürrle, Čech and Luís all came in very well. I can't speak about Sporting because the substitutes for Chelsea would probably be starting for Sporting or any other side. When the game was 2-1, maybe they could bring some emotion to the game, but at 3-1 the game was finished, the better side won. If Sporting were supposed to get more points within the group, it was definitely not at Stamford Bridge.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek makes an impression©AFP/Getty Images
I don't think any of the big teams are out of the Champions League, maybe Liverpool, but all the teams that want to win the competition are all still in. Season after season you repeat this. I used to say that the real Champions League starts now. Barcelona are there, Real Madrid are there, Bayern are there, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Dortmund, Paris, everyone is there, so the season starts now.
What can we do? I don't know. For sure we were not one of the top four teams last year and we played in the Champions League semi-finals. Let's see what we can do this season, step by step.
Paulo Oliveira, Sporting defender
[It's a disappointment] without a doubt. We played against all the other teams as equals. In the games we showed our quality. Unfortunately we didn't manage to achieve our main objective – to qualify – but now we have the Europa League, which we're going to try and win.
We're a young squad, with some fundamentals still to learn, and we've got a way to go, but this makes up part of our growth as players.
Marco Silva, Sporting coach
We tried our best but we know the reality of the team we are facing, coming to play here at Stamford Bridge against rivals like Chelsea. Things didn't go the way we had planned or expected. We couldn't manage them in the first half, we didn't have the rhythm. We allowed them to have possession very close to our goal. In the second half we came out better and got a goal but all our aspirations were killed when they got the third goal.
The objective is always to go step by step. We always want to win so obviously we are not happy with the defeat. We were expecting more but we have to carry on. We have a very big game on Sunday; unfortunately we couldn't get the point we needed here.
You can't come to a place like this and think about other games. This was the game tonight, we were thinking of this, not the Europa League. Unfortunately we couldn't stay in the Champions League so now we will concentrate on the Europa League.
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Max has had many different roles through his career though he is best known for playing Rom on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".
Despite not being one of the "main cast" Rom had amounts of character development that plenty of actors would die for, and Max shone as the loveable and uber intelligent Ferengi.
Andrew is an actor who was Qui Gon Jin's stand-in / double and also played a Naboo Royal Guard in "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace". Andrew has appeared in countless films and tv series including: "Prime Suspect 1973", "Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves", "Murphy's Law", "Top Boy" and many more.
Quite fittingly Andrew also starred as Doc Brown and Principal Strickland in the london stage production of "Back To The Future", if you keep an eye out you may even see Doc make an appearance with the Delorean during the day.
John is an Actor, Stunt man and Martial Arts instructor who was inspired to pursue acting after a conversation with Gene Roddenberry. John has had many roles over the years including "The Brittas Empire", though Star Trek fans will know him best for starring in the Trek fan films "Renegades", "Of Gods and Men" and "Phase II"
Nick portrayed Arhul Hextrophon (One of the medal bearers) during the medal ceremony in "Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope". Nick has also appeared in many of the most iconic franchises around, he has appeared in: "James Bond: The Spy Who Loved Me", "Doctor Who", "Blake's 7" and more.
Derek portrayed Voren Na'al (one of the medal bearers during the medal ceremony) and a Massassi Temple Guard in "Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope". Though like many of our guests Derek has contributed to many of the most popular franchises around, including: "Indiana Jones and the last crusade" "Superman 2, 3 & 4", "Red Dwarf", "The Shining", multiple James Bond films and much more.
James is a BAFTA nominee and New York Times best selling author and scriptwriter that has been involved in some of the most iconic franchises around, including Stargate, Warhammer 40,000, Blake's 7, Doctor Who, Star Trek and many more.
James also wrote the original story concepts for 2 Star trek Voyager episodes, "One" & "Memorial".
Tina played a Rebel Technician in "Star Wars: Episode VI The Return Of The Jedi" and has appeared in countless other familiar movies and franchises including: "Dr Who", "The Dark Knight", "Superman lV", "Transformers: The Last Night" and "Doctor Strange".
Alan is an Oscar-nominated Art Director who's had a lengthy career bringing various writers creations to life on such iconic films and shows as "Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back", "Saving Private Ryan", "Band Of Brothers", "JFK", "Batman Begins" and many more.
Alan is also the author of "Stars and Wars: The Film Memoirs and Photographs of Alan Tomkins", which he will be selling and signing at Trek-On!
Alan portrayed a stormtrooper in arguably the most iconic moment in Star Wars history as he was on of the stormtroopers responsible for placing Han Solo in the carbon-freezing chamber in "Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back". Alan also appeared in "Raiders of the lost ark", "Flash Gordon", "Doctor Who" and more.
Paul is an artist who has worked as a freelance artist in the roles of photographer, musician, writer, painter, and airbrush artist. His renown as the latter eventually secured him a commission as the lead painter of the refit-Enterprise studio model for its appearance in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Paul also released an autobiography "Star Trek: Creating The Enterprise" which takes you through his time working on the refit-Enterprise.
Sandeep developed an appreciation for acting at a young age, however he chose to pursue a career in Science and Technology.
After having the opportunity to make a small appearance in Eastenders in 2008, he found himself impassioned to dedicate his time to acting.
Since then he has appeared in some of the most iconic recent films including playing a First Order Stormtrooper in "Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens" and a Scarif Trooper in "Rogue One".
Sandeep has also appeared in: "Guardians Of The Galaxy", "Skyfall", "Spectre", "Doctor Strange", "World War Z" and many more.
Larry is a Star Trek author, actor, editor, archivist, consultant, interviewer and producer, first widely known thanks to his classic best-seller "Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion" he has wrote countless articles and books about Trek. He has portrayed Dr. McCoy in the Star Trek Continues web series episodes "Pilgrim of Eternity" and "Lolani".
Larry has recently launched the pioneering Portal 47 monthly deep-dive features for Star Trek fans, and is filming a documentary, "The Con of Wrath,"
Larry will be joining us for a LIVE Q&A via Skype in our main theatre at 4pm.
David dedicated the majority of his career to the theatre and has produced and appeared in countless productions.
He made multiple appearances over the years in "Doctor Who", he also appeared in "Superman IV" and multiple British staples such as "The Two Ronnies" and "Fawlty Towers", plus much more.
Unfortunately due to work commitments, Guy will not be able to attend Trek-On!


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metaDRAMA
belletristic bemusements
Time Flies When You're Having Fun (But Finding Yourself Without Any Time To Write Down What You Really Want To Say)
So in the interests of that horrendously long but accurate title for this post, I'm closing up shop here at metaDRAMA. I'm going to try consolidating my so-called "belletristic bemusements" with my actual reviews of plays over at That Sounds Cool, in the hopes that merging all the thoughts I'm having about theater, both in what I'm seeing and what I'm reading, will help me become more timely in my posts. So far, it's worked: the fourth "Critical Thought" is posted over there right now. Thanks for bearing with me as I try to flesh out what exactly I want to do with all this criticism, and where I hope it will lead me in the future. Your thoughts, as always, are welcome. (Only you might want to do them over there, as I'll stop checking this blog.)
Posted by Aaron Riccio at 11:30 PM 33 comments:
A Base of Biases
As I continue to explore what it means for me to write criticism, one class I took in college keeps coming back to me, ENG 450N. The whole purpose of that course, "Evaluating Literature" was based upon coming up with a series of criteria (which would evolve over the semester) and then straining them down to a list of recognizable biases that could identify what works and doesn't -- at the most primal level -- for us. In the interests of being fair to my own writing, and in continuing to grow it, I wanted to explore why I had such an emotional reaction to Fabrik. This came out in part from Matthew Freeman's self-awareness after Happy Days, and also from a series of comments I received from Anonymous in response to something I'd blogged about Apartment 3A for the Show Showdown race.
First and foremost: Fabrik is, as I say in my review, the second play that's ever made me really lose myself in tears. I'm not talking about choking up a little, as with Journey's End: I'm talking about needing to sit in the theater after the show for a few minutes afterward, unable to really speak intelligibly, and then having a lump in my throat for the rest of the night. In other words: powerful stuff. Thinking back, the only other time that'd ever happened to me was seeing a college production of Cabaret, and I knew that had hit home only because I knew the actor playing Herr Schultz. That's when it hit me: I could've seen myself in his shoes, too, standing there in my fruit shop, a Nazi youth having just thrown a brick through my window, and me, remarking naively that it was OK, they wouldn't do anything to me, for I was, first and foremost, a German, just like them. Sobering thought, especially given how false that thought turned out to be. But whereas I'd usually be able to pull back behind the fourth wall and hide myself from any real feeling (the tragic flaw of the audience), knowing the actor forced me to confront the scene, and from there, every effect was amplified across the boards and into my heart.
But Fabrik is about a puppet -- why was it able to hit me? Could've been the intimacy of the theater -- the miniature scale of the action itself made the small, delicate movements all the bigger. It could've been that I was sitting in the front row, just feet away from the giant German boots stomping a puppet prisoner to death. It could've been the soft classical music reverberating -- I'm always a sucker for an emotional score. More directly, I think it was again that it spoke to me through my work as an artist: this time, the aestheticism of the violence pulled my strings, so to speak. Not to mention that, due to some bad memories of Hebrew School as a child (don't ever force a kid through years of religious study), I had the repressions of my own making rising up in me.
So then, what do I want to see on stage? First -- and this should be no surprise to those who have read my reviews -- I prize aestheticism above all else. A show that is elegantly and creatively directed already has an advantage. If it's going to be a black-box, then the performances need to be unique, otherwise it seems like a reading to me, and if it's going to be a reading, then there needs to be something noticeably different about the script, which may explain why the scripts I've been reading lately are alternative narratives, found in Clubbed Thumb's Funny, Strange, Provocative or Jordan Harrison's magazine, Play: A Journal of Plays (and also why even though I didn't like Doris to Darlene, I identified something in the writing as being superior to the rest of the show -- also why I ended up loving Amazons and Their Men).
Second, I prefer works that dispense with the fourth wall, either by the necessity of the space, or by the unconventionality of the drama. I didn't love Peter Handke's production of Offending the Audience, which I saw last night, but I loved the idea of changing our perception of the space that the performers and actors share. (I said the same thing with a similar play from The Flea and its Bats, seating ARRANGEMENTS.) The same goes for what Nature Theater of Oklahoma's done with No Dice and, more so, with Poetics: A Ballet Brut. And don't get me started on site-specific work: though it wasn't open for review, I loved Lisa D'Amour's Bird Eye Blue Print, and was thrilled with the broken anonymity of Small Metal Objects (to say nothing of what Rotozaza's been doing with works like Doublethink and Etiquette.)
Third, I like work that challenges more than the superficial. That's why I have such negative reactions to plays about the here and now, like Hunting and Gathering, but such respect for works like Crime and Punishment. This goes for politics, too: if you're going to just joke about the system, as with the trivial November, then I'm going to feel as if my time's been wasted; show a sign of real political struggle (or personal experience), as with Widows, and my heart starts to go out to the show.
Which is not to say that I can't enjoy other sorts of theater, but I need to be affected: I can't stand leaving a theater feeling nothing, or without something pushing me to consider the world in a new light. If the only sort of theater out there is really the everyday, then Charles Isherwood is right to suggest that we head to the nearest Trader Joe's to get our fix during the next strike. Luckily, I'm happy to report that the city's inventiveness shows no signs of flagging, and my apologies in advance to the shows that I don't appreciate: they, too, are doing their part in widening the variety of theater out there, opening up the way with each failure for something new and exciting. I'm far from recognizing the perfect show, but I get closer with each day to growing not only an opinion, but myself.
Posted by Aaron Riccio at 2:41 PM No comments:
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
Dredging through some archives that I managed to catch up on over the holiday, and here's a little gem from American Theater (October 2007), from an interview with writer/director Craig Lucas. Says Lucas:
There's this whole play-development thing in America that assumes somehow all new plays are broken and need fixing. But what does that mean? Every single one of Shakespeare's plays has a bad fourth act in my view -- every one of them! And your job as a director is to find a way to make it play on stage, to sustain it. I keep asking dramaturgs: "What would you do if Chekhov's Three Sisters came across the transom tomorrow?" I think many would say, "Perhaps you need to explain why they aren't going to Moscow."
Lucas continues, "Theater should be a participatory event, not 'you sit back in your chair and we'll do everything for you.' That's fine for mass entertainment, but that isn't why I go to the theatre. I go to be teased and drawn out."
This fits neatly with another director/playwright's stance, this time from Harold Pinter, courtesy of John Lahr in The New Yorker (Dec. 24 & 31). His view is tidily expressed here: To supply an explicit moral tag to an evolving and compulsive dramatic image seems to me facile, impertinent, and dishonest. Where this takes place it is not theatre but a crossword puzzle. The audience holds the paper. The play fills in the blanks. Everyone's happy. There has been no conflict between audience and play, no participation, nothing has been exposed. We walk out as we walk in."
Yeah, consider how much the Times hated The Homecoming when it premiered in the '60s (though they offered a corrective a few weeks later, hint, hint), as opposed to how much they like it now. Truth be told, you'll always find someone who thinks the whole play is broke -- even Raymond Carver's brilliant short story collections were first torn to pieces by his editor (again, that issue of The New Yorker, specifically, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love"). So what's the trick to escaping "development hell"?
Try letting the playwright free-fall; whether there's a big impact or just a feeble splat, at least the work is being experimented with, at least it's not in limbo. Everyone's entitled to some failures, so long as they have the will to keep on going, as long as they're able to find the audience. That's what I admire about 13P (this year is Shelia Callaghan and Lucy Thurber): they're letting the playwrights do what they must, and last year's production of Have You Seen Steve Steven (and the revival of The Internationalist) both gave unique voices the opportunity to be heard. You'll also see things like this in groups focused on getting those voices out, like New Georges (God's Ear and Good Heif) or Clubbed Thumb (the upcoming Amazons and Their Men, but see also their recent book 'o seven plays: Funny, Strange, Provocative). I hope to talk to these groups in '08 to see what their perspective is on where the director steps in. (Note, I've left companies out of this mix, like Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, the Debate Society, &c., because their work is collaborative, and totally something else that I'd like to focus on in the new year. Bold theaters, however, like SoHo Rep and the increasingly daring Playwrights Horizon are worth checking out.)
Theater should be more than junk food (I railed against a recent production of The Santaland Diaries because of this), and my resolution for the new year will be to challenge myself as an audience member at least as much as the playwright is challenging me. Doesn't mean I'll like it, but it doesn't mean it's broken either.
Posted by Aaron Riccio at 1:22 AM No comments:
Critical Thought #3: Thoughts on Second Thoughts
Saw No Dice on Saturday. Got fired up by the show and wrote a review about it that evening. Saw two more shows tonight, The Devil's Disciple and Vital Signs (a one-act play festival), but kept thinking about No Dice. Now although I write on a website that is by nature fluid, I don't think it's ethical for me to amend any review that I write, at least not to change an opinion of it (making a technical correction, especially as I have no editor; that I feel is fair game so long as I credit the correction, much like a newspaper does the next day). But then I started reading the comments to my last thought here, and it occurred to me, when talking about subjectivity and the use of blogs, wouldn't it be great to be able to stay fresher?
I'm not talking about changing an opinion, or pulling a 180, but what if you realize you haven't spoken strongly enough in favor of a show or if you were too lenient? Sometimes it takes a while for something to sink in, and it's true that you don't always realize what you've got until it's gone. Also, let's not ignore the fact that in such a subjective field, mood plays a large part, and you'd be hard pressed to find any writer who can block out all moods, stresses, and other thoughts from their ultimate perspective. (That's why I'm against trusting any one voice.) So why not allow the critic a space in which to slightly touch up or touch down their thoughts? We've allowed John Simon to change his mind entirely about Sondheim over the course of 40 years (though the plays themselves haven't changed, only the times), so why not compress that and allow -- nay, expect -- that critics give themselves the room, even if only on the Internet to self-correct? Wouldn't that be an excellent use of blogging? The PR firms would still have their blurbs, and if the internet really is as shabby a tool as they think, any later corrections wouldn't really change those (not like the pull quotes are always honest, either).
I don't really know that there's so much of a point to this post, and it certainly feels like a ramble, but what I'm trying to say is that No Dice really is a striking show. I still prefer the more compressed and stylized work of The Debate Society, but that's because I'm an aesthete at heart, and I can't say that No Dice is as original as other theatergoers might take it to be, because I've seen a lot of experimental works from groups like Rotozaza. But that energy, those accents, that faux-amateurish charm (yeah, they knew exactly what they were doing), they really did succeed in getting the audience to love them, and I'd be remiss if I didn't tell the audiences that "I'm A Sexy Robot" is still stuck in my head (I want Nature Theater of Oklahoma to release a YouTube video . . . even though their whole point is that it's live).
Here's the point (at a point where some bloggers are worried about such a stupid, imaginary thing as "trust"): after editing, processing, careful considering, review, and publishing, the review is still a subjective force, and if we're really interested in the arts that we write about -- the theater itself -- then there's no reason why we shouldn't go back in to the fray and write for what we stand behind. Playwrights endlessly workshop their plays, changing them even in the midst of previews; perhaps it would be more truthful for critics to acknowledge that what's currently going as their final word isn't necessarily their most accurate one. And maybe they should explore ways in which they can continue to explore their reactions; otherwise, a deadline is just as cold as it sounds.
Critical Thought #2: What's a Spoiler?
Rob Kendt calls out Jacques Le Sourd for spoiling the big secret of Tracy Letts' new play, August: Osage County, which I review here. My stance on spoilers is simple: if the play does not earn its ending, then you have the right to ruin it -- think of it as an active choice to take away whatever incentive the audience might have to actually go out and see it. No spoiler alert is necessary (though it's certainly courteous): plot analysis is implicit in any critical reading or evaluation of a work. (For example, I wouldn't talk about the end of The Sixth Sense, but I would gladly tell you about The Village.) I generally extend it one step further, just because I try to be a nice guy and give the benefit of the doubt where I can, which is to say that I won't give away anything that is integral to the work itself; that is, if there's a perspective-changing revelation (Darth Vader is Luke's father), I wouldn't say a word, although if it were simply a surprising plot point (Darth Vader cuts off Luke's hand), I would.
In the case of August: Osage County, I don't think Le Sourd gives away anything that would ruin anyone's enjoyment of the play. The relationship between Ivy Weston and Little Charles isn't that big of a shocker, any more than Beverly's suicide after the first scene. The play is about larger things than that (and smaller things), and isn't impacted by this commentary. In fact, it's actually important, as it addresses one of the taboos of the play -- I mean, imagine trying to analyze The Goat (or Who Is Sylvia?) without mentioning that he's fucking a goat. How would you talk about our shallow notions of love, or the (admittedly exaggerated) very real prospect of loving two distinct people at the same time?
If this were the case, you'd only have solid reviews of revivals, for with those, there's an understanding that the plot is already understood (as with my usage of Star Wars above). Critics who analyze Romeo and Juliet, for example, seem to have no problem spoiling -- even for younger audiences -- the fact that these two star-crossed lovers both die. Yes, that's an extreme example, but I'm just saying: knowing how a play ends doesn't necessarily stop the audience from enjoying it, unless that's all there is to the show.
And seriously, if all a show has going for it is a twist -- which is certainly not the case with August: Osage County -- then there's a bigger problem with American theater than people say. Ultimately, the point I'm making is this: if you're reading a review, you're either looking for validation (or argument) regarding what you've already seen (and therefore can't have spoiled), or you're trying to be persuaded into seeing the show in question. Shouldn't the critic have the right to talk you out of seeing the show, if it so rankled their senses? Because if not, if we take away that most aggressive of critical tools, aren't we preventing the critic from justifying his or her own views, thereby belittling all negative arguments and simply promoting the positive?
Posted by Aaron Riccio at 12:15 AM 3 comments:
Critical Thought: Introduction and #1
One of the things I find most interesting about the theatrosphere is that at times, even with all of the theatrical content out there, it is a self-generating gossip machine, a place where there are more comments about comments than actual observations about the industry itself. (For instance, Nick's wrap-up of the Hunka/Jacobs back-and-forth of earlier this year, and the various responses that's gotten.) There's been much said in the last month, but I've stayed out of it; I'm glad someone bashed the Isherwood column, but on the whole, I found that to be unnecessary; I was pleased to see such great coverage of the strike, but found myself with no hard news to contribute; and I was flattered to be mentioned in George's latest state of the union address, even though I think it's a good thing that there are no standards -- in other words, no limitations -- to what might be said on the Internet.
I had a great time reading all of these posts, or what might be called "lurking" by New York Times Magazine's new media columnist, Virginia Heffernan. You may have even seen the rare post by me, but for the most part, I've decided that whereas I already have my focus on reviews on my main site (That Sounds Cool) and over at the Show Showdown, I don't have the energy to talk about talking about other things, which is something this post seems to belie. So without further ado, I'm going to introduce the new direction for my blog, an attempt of mine both to break out of idleness and irregular posting here, but also to strengthen my original intent: to find the form of criticism that best realizes the medium, and also to show, to anyone reading, a different sort of artist's search for truth. I set out on this path back in April, with a mini-manifesto (of sorts), and I'll delve back into that search now by citing some good examples in the various literature I read, either of good usages, good observations, or things that just make me wonder what the whole point of criticism is, anyway.
Anyway, I'll begin with two excerpts from the December 2007 issue of Harper's Magazine.
Try to understand what the author wishes to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt . . . if the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's ouevre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?
- John Updike, Picked-Up Pieces (1975)
Granted, he's talking about literary criticism, but theater is just a flesh-and-blood, three-dimensional production of what's already on the page, and what Updike says here is pretty accurate. If you're going to condemn craft, it helps to put that text into context, by either finding places where it works in the play and then doesn't, or by talking about the genre as a whole, explaining what extra piece was necessary to elevate the text or justify it. Of course, this requires a wealth of knowledge, which is why the theater critic must never stop seeing shows, and shows of all variety, not just those content to sparkle in a big house, but those that are forced by necessity to innovate in a smaller space.
And then these two gems from W. H. Auden's De Droite et de Gauche (1952), which has the French title because the original English was lost (meaning that the following is a return to form for this belated retranslation):
The best literary critic is not the one whose judgments are always right but the one whose essays compel you to read and reread the works he discusses; even when he is hostile, you feel that the work attacked is important enough to be worth the effort. There are other critics who, even when they praise a book, cancel any desire you might have to read it.
Man, to be that critic, the one who manages to spark a genuine excitement in the reader. There are all to many shows that I've written negative reviews for, but in all of those critiques, I always start by trying to set the scene, to explore what exactly it is that I'm responding badly to, in the hopes that the reader will be able to use their own judgment. I avoid hostility (though I often get it from anonymous comments that would rather attack me than explain the supposed merits of the play in question), because I don't think it is ever conducive toward discussion or thought, but I do think the important thing Auden says here is that the best critic is -- most importantly -- not always right. How dare we boil things down to such blacks and whites?
Judging a work of art is virtually they same mental operation as judging human beings, and requires the same aptitudes: first, a real love of works of art, an inclination to praise rather than blame, and regret when a complete rejection is required; second, a vast experience of all artistic activities; and last, an awareness, openly and happily accepted, of one's own prejudices. Some critics fail because they are pedants whose ideal of perfection is always offended by a concrete realization. Others fail because they are insular and hostile to what is alien to them; these critics, yielding to their prejudices without knowing they have them and sincerely offering judgments they believe to be objective, are more excusable than those who, aware of their prejudices, lack the courage to enter the lists to defend their personal tastes.
That quote there is the heart of criticism, and I think it explains why so many people out there are having poor reactions to modern American criticism. The easiest observation to make is that a lot of the professional critics out there don't seem to actually love what they do. You have to want the show to succeed -- even if that biases you a little -- or you become incapable of seeing anything other than what you've already established in that first five minute impression. Granted, we are a culture that works heavily off of first impressions, but historically, the first impression has never gotten us anywhere. Look at how many firsts we've been wrong about; Hell, look at how many people John Simon has reversed his opinion about as the years have gone by! That second point there, too, again speaks to the necessity of experience -- really the only qualifying point for any active critic. If you enjoy spending your time in the theater, it will never seem alien to you; instead, it will just be another adventure.
What I find most interesting about that whole thought is that prejudice can be something useful, and if you think about it, there's really no reason why we should be able to fight for the playwrights we love. The problem is, as with Isherwood and Sarah Ruhl (love), Will Eno (neutral), or Adam Rapp (hate), is that it's not enough to just have that closeted off: it needs to be clear, too. Why do I like Adam Bock plays so much? And how can I resolve his casual, completely innocuous language, with my other loves -- for lyrical text (specifically rhymed couplets) and a cinematic aesthetic on the stage (the sort of stuff Lear deBesonnet does). I imagine that delving into that would only make me a better critic, and as the months go on, I hope to start interviewing some of these delightful artists so that I can find out why I feel so connected to their styles -- and perhaps succeed in exciting the rest of you to the same degree.
I choose not to review television shows because they're the common medium: it's all too easy to access them, even easier to pass judgment on them (and for the most part, given how much TV we watch, accurate judgment), and there really isn't that much art left in the great many shows out there. I won't say there aren't exceptions (The Wire), or that there isn't great writing (House), innovative storytelling (Lost), or superbly self-indulgent satire (Boston Legal). But the only purpose critics serve in television is to keep a show on the air, something they've been failing to do (Arrested Development on the high end, Veronica Mars on the low).
Which brings me to the point of this would-be screen screed: NBC is all but giving away Friday Night Lights in a desperate attempt to grab fearful audience's attentions for the second season, which everybody seems to know is good, but nobody seems to watch. (It can't be that they don't know when it's on; it's actually in the title of the show.) You can buy the full season, all twenty-two episodes, for $20 through their site, and most other outlets offer it for $30, which is still a steal. Not that I'm schilling for the marketing department, though. I'm just pointing out the brilliance of their marketing. NBC has the pockets to take a "loss" on their DVD (in this case, it isn't really a loss, since making the DVD costs next to nothing -- any copy they sell, for almost any price, is a profit), but in doing so, helps to build an audience of cheapskates looking for a good value who, after stumbling into this solid, solid show, will theoretically keep watching, week after week, the "after" economics that will then yield profits for the show and the network.
There are theaters out there that have started similar initiatives, all with the purpose of dropping prices NOW so that they will have a more sustainable fan base LATER. With every ticket Todd Haimes sells for Speech and Debate, he's getting audiences (lured in by the solid production values and the $20 ticket price) interested in what Roundabout does. Every discount, be it for "young professionals," tour groups from out of town, corporations, &c., helps to build word of mouth and spill over into a large enough audience to sell out the next show on trust alone. I never know what I'm going to find when I go to Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, but I'm willing to buy a ticket because I trust the company will be doing fun stuff. When I make a small investment of money or time at PS 122 or HERE Arts Center, I'm trusting that their directors and curators are putting up shows that they actually care about, and not just trying to lease the space out. (This isn't always the case, but one can hope.)
Sarah Benson, new artistic director of Soho Rep, makes a valid point in the new issue of TONY (which is all about where the cost of a ticket goes): "The box office is a piece of the pie, but it's a small piece . . . we don't rely on it." Like Signature Theater, she is looking outside the box to find ways to keep the box office inexpensive so that she can build loyal audiences who trust the programming enough to come back should donors dry up and prices go back down. It's a circle too: the New York Times Magazine recently wrote about the kinds of people who give to their colleges (and why), and I think we'd find that donors are those long-standing patrons who feel a connection, cultivated over the years, to a good-intentioned organization.
Discounts are but a limited band-aid on the overwhelming inflation of ticket costs, and I'm liking the balls of a group like Roundabout to commit to cheaper pricing (with their ACCESS ROUNDABOUT program, say). When I saw Speech and Debate, I saw the next generation of theatergoers, and if they were simply half as impressed as I, they'll be back for more.
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It can feel daunting to make life changes on your own.
Employee turnover rates are at an all-time high.
Have you ever wondered why you're not getting a diverse candidate pool of resumes?
EdSurge helps people find meaningful work—and offers a new take on a stressful process.
This event will be a day of conversations on how the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can continue to lead on emerging technology and its implementation in the workplace.
Understanding who you are and what stories you tell the world dramatically affects the way that you present yourself at work and at home.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW), the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement, and the District Hall team are pleased to invite you to Work Smart in Boston.
Android developers get together for informal discussion of mobile technologies. Everyone is welcome, all interests and skill levels.


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Press - Victoria Leading The Way For A Low-Carbon Future
Victoria Leading The Way For A Low-Carbon Future
The Australian government's cap-and-trade system has helped the South Australian state of Victoria become the first in the world to successfully inventory the amount of carbon stored in its public forests, parks, and reserves.
According to Victoria Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings, "this new information will allow Victorian landowners enter the carbon market, locate reforestation opportunities, and quantify carbon on their own land."
Mr. Jennings encouraged his own government to take into account this new information regarding the carbon storage and emissions from public land in the design of Australia's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and during the international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December by releasing the research in Los Angeles at the California Governor's Climate Change Summit.
According to the modelling findings, Victoria's public lands could store 3,031 million (U.S.) tonnes of carbon dioxide, or 23 years' worth of the state's entire greenhouse gas emissions.
The Commonwealth's planned Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, according to Mr. Jennings, has the full backing of the Victorian Government. We will be better able to plan future forestry efforts in Victoria if we measure our state's carbon emissions using the Commonwealth's planned carbon accounting system.
The Vic LandCarbon project explores how amounts of carbon stored on public land are impacted by wildfire, fuel-reduction burning, and harvesting.
In the past, we have calculated the carbon dioxide emissions from large-scale bushfires, but today, Mr. Jennings continued, "we can identify how much carbon is emitted by bushfires in comparison to the carbon that is caught throughout the regeneration process."
Victoria officials now know that carbon dioxide emissions from the February 2009 bushfires on public land topped 9.4 million (U.S.) tonnes thanks to this modelling, which was done for the first time in Australia.
Mr. Jennings said, "The modelling also reveals that over the previous decade, bushfires in Victoria have released over 70 million tonnes (77 tonnes) of carbon dioxide."
According to the findings, planned burning can, over time, diminish the intensity of bushfires and the quantity of emissions they produce.
In order to promote green jobs and future investment in carbon storage on both public and private property, the Victoria government is developing information and science to take into account the carbon asset of its public land.
The state of Victoria's woods, according to Mr. Jennings, "will continue to provide the resources we depend on, such as timber, biodiversity, and recreation, while decreasing the state's carbon footprint to ensure a healthy future."
Visit www.climatechange.vic.gov.au for further details.
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Based on its recent analysis of the healthcare data interoperability market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Validic and its impact on data access integration and management. This report delves into healthcare and technology trends, key industry challenges and best practices in data interoperability. It also details Validic's ability to address current and future market needs and highlights the company's clear market differentiators.


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Luxury Homes: November 2007
Big deals by football star LaMont Jordan, sportscaster Brett Haber, and Republican insider Ken Mehlman.
Written by Mary Clare Glover
| Published on November 1, 2007
Pundit Jonathan Turley bought this McLean Colonial for $1.7 million. Photograph by David Pipkin
Sportscaster Brett Haber spent $2.4 million on this Bethesda house. Photograph by David Pipkin.
In DC: Republican insider Kenneth Mehlman sold a three-bedroom, three-bath rowhouse on Capitol Hill for $899,000. Mehlman, a partner at the DC law firm Akin Gump, was head of the Republican National Committee from 2005 until January.
Metro chief John B. Catoe Jr. bought a three-bedroom, four-bath townhouse condo on Kentucky Avenue on Capitol Hill—within walking distance of three Metro stations—for $995,000. Before becoming general manager of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in January, Catoe was deputy chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Senator Ronald L. Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, bought a four-bedroom, three-bath rowhouse on Capitol Hill for $999,000. Built in 1900, the Victorian home was remodeled in 2001. Wyden was elected to the Senate in 1996.
In Maryland: Oakland Raiders running back LaMont Jordan sold a seven-bedroom, six-bath Colonial on Croom Station Road in Upper Marlboro for $1.2 million. The house has 9,200 square feet and sits on more than two acres. Jordan went to Suitland High School in Forestville and the University of Maryland. He spent four years with the New York Jets before signing a five-year, $27.5-million contract with the Raiders in 2005.
Journalist Joel Brinkley sold this brick house in Chevy Chase for $1.9 million. Photograph by David Pipkin.
Sportscaster Brett Haber and his wife, Jennifer, bought a six-bedroom, six-bath home in Bethesda's Bannockburn neighborhood for $2.4 million. Haber is sports director for WUSA-TV, Washington's CBS affiliate.
Journalist Joel Brinkley sold a house in Chevy Chase's Somerset Heights neighborhood for $1.9 million. After a 23-year career with the New York Times, Brinkley last year became a visiting professor in Stanford University's Department of Communication.
In Virginia: Lawyer and pundit Jonathan Turley and his wife, Leslie, bought a five-bedroom, six-bath Colonial in McLean's Cherterbrook Gardens neighborhood for $1.7 million. Turley is a law professor at George Washington University.
Real-estate executive Michael Darby bought a unit in the Odyssey Condominium for $2.3 million. A few blocks from the Court House Metro stop in Arlington, the building has a rooftop swimming pool and terrace. Darby is cofounder of Monument Realty, a DC real-estate development firm.
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Q: Save the most recent months of a hash I have an array of hashes. Something like this...
transactions = [{"date"=>"2014-07-21", "amount"=>200},
               {"date"=>"2012-06-21", "amount"=>400},
               {"date"=>"2014-08-21", "amount"=>100},
               {"date"=>"2014-08-12", "amount"=>150},
               {"date"=>"2014-06-15", "amount"=>230}
               {"date"=>"2013-05-21", "amount"=>900},]

I want to be able to save each months total amounts and then show the most recent 3 months to todays date and their total amount. Something like this...
Totals:   06-14    $230
          07-14    $200
          08-14    $250
I have this method but i am not sure how to get only the last 3 months to put in my database field and how to print it out.
def income_by_month
    @payroll_transactions = current_user.transactions
    @recent_payroll = @payroll_transactions.find_all {90.days.ago.to_date..Date.today}.map #finds transactions within 90 days
     @amount_by_month = @recent_payroll.group_by { |t| t.date.to_date.month }.map do |month, transactions|
        [month, transactions.sum(:amount)] #Groups transactions by month and adds month total
      end.to_h

-EDIT-
I figured out a method to only get the transactions from the last 30 days I updated my method to show it. Now my question is how do I save the answer (Do i save it in one field as an Array?) and then how to show the answer in my view. Like I show it here. How do I print each key and value line by line in an order?
Totals:   06-14    $230
          07-14    $200
          08-14    $250

-EDIT-
Sorry my database is a mongoid db. And I want to save the most recent 3 months to todays date regardless of if an amount is available.

A: Let me start with a quick note on your code snippet:
group_by { |t| t.date.to_date.month }

Note that grouping objects by a single month does not take a year in count, so it would end summing up amounts for transactions of both 2012 and 2014 years in a one container. So what you really want is to group based on both month and year values.
Thinking of reducing the amount of redundant iterations through the input array (and using unnecessary aggregations), I've came to the following suggestion:
last_months = transactions.map{|i| Date.parse(i["date"]).strftime("%m-%Y")}.uniq.sort.last(3)
result      = last_months.inject({}){|result, input| result[input] = 0; result}
transactions.inject(result) do |result, object|
  # NOTE: we're already doing dates parsing and strftime two times here.
  # In case you operate on Date objects themselves in your code, this is not the case.
  # But the real perfomance measurement between summing all values up
  # and strftiming more than once should be done additionally.
  month = Date.parse(object["date"]).strftime("%m-%Y")
  result[month] += object["amount"] if result[month]
  result
end
# result now equals to {"06-2014"=>230, "07-2014"=>200, "08-2014"=>250}

First, we obtain those last three months (and years).
Next we create a hash to contain aggregated values with only those last months keys. At the end we sum up amount for only those transactions which seem to be one of the latter 3 months.
So, as long as ruby hashes (ruby v.1.9+) preserve the keys order, you can simply iterate over them to print out:
result.each{|k,v| puts "#{k}: #{v}"}
# 06-2014: 230
# 07-2014: 200
# 08-2014: 250

One last thing to note here is that doing this kind of aggregation inside of your server code is not quite efficient. Much more tempting option would be to move this calculations to your database layer.

A: ActiveSupport has some pretty slick date methods like Date#beginning_of_month:
require "date"
require "active_support/core_ext"

def process_transaction_group(month, transactions)
  {
    month: month.strftime("%Y/%m"),
    total: transactions.map {|t| t["amount"] }.reduce(:+)
  }
end

def process_transactions(transactions)
  transactions
    .group_by {|t| Date.parse(t["date"]).beginning_of_month }
    .select {|month, _trxs| month < 3.months.ago }
    .map {|month, trxs| process_transaction_group(month, trxs) }
end

###############

transactions = [{"date"=>"2014-07-21", "amount"=>200},
               {"date"=>"2012-06-21", "amount"=>400},
               {"date"=>"2014-08-21", "amount"=>100},
               {"date"=>"2014-08-12", "amount"=>150},
               {"date"=>"2014-06-15", "amount"=>230},
               {"date"=>"2013-05-21", "amount"=>900}]

process_transactions(transactions)
#=> [{:month=>"2014/07", :total=>200}, {:month=>"2012/06", :total=>400}, {:month=>"2014/08", :total=>250}, {:month=>"2014/06", :total=>230}, {:month=>"2013/05", :total=>900}]

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Love? said the Commander
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Our new EP, 'In the Kitchen,' is available now on Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and wherever else you stream your music! Its six songs were recorded live (with no overdubs) in Kate's kitchen over the course of one humid September day. Each track features the ambient noises of a suburban Jersey neighborhood, including cars, planes, animals, bugs and people. All of the outside sounds happened exactly when they appear and were not added later. We hope that 'In the Kitchen' effectively captures our live sound and makes listeners feel like they were in the kitchen with us on that toasty late-summer day. Enjoy!
All throughout 2022 we're releasing one cover each month of an artist who played a big role in one or both of our musical lives - you can check out our 'Year of Covers' series on YouTube HERE!
BIG NEWS! We recently recorded a live Key Session at WXPN in Philadelphia, and you can watch and read about the session here. We're still buzzing from this bucket list experience - hope you enjoy it!
Our 4th EP, 'Bones,' is now available! We recorded the 4 stripped down songs LIVE in ONE DAY with ONE MIC at the historic Wayne County Courthouse in Honesdale, PA. You can listen to 'Bones' on Bandcamp and wherever you stream your music.
Our 3rd EP, 'Pick Me Up,' is available on all things streaming and Bandcamp. We recorded, mixed, and mastered these 5 tracks, so this is a very special release for us. We hope you enjoy it and let us know what you think! In the words of one review, "This release is L?STC's most confident yet, and it is my favorite thing they've done."
Our first two EPs, "A Million Miles Away" and "A Place For Our Heads," are also available wherever you stream your music and Bandcamp.
"A Place For Our Heads" has gotten some excellent reviews! See what the folks at WXPN and Look At My Records are saying.
Here's a great writeup of 'Misery,' a song about dancing, from "A Place For Our Heads."
We were included in WXPN's Philly 100 for 2019! Check out the full article here.
And check out these great write ups from WXPN's The Key and The Deli Magazine.
Love? said the Commander "Bones" Official Music Video
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Love? said the Commander (Kate Hall & Chris Bishop) is a duo from the "PhilaJersey" area that embraces "maximal minimalism" in order to create slow burning indie-folk that'll make ya feel stuff.
We're available for private events and could possibly even score your next movie!
Email us at lovesaidthecommander@gmail.com for more information or fill out the form below.
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'Underneath the Tree', Kelly Clarkson
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Waiting for a release by Steve Eggers and the Nines is like waiting for Christmas – you wonder what goodies are going to be waiting for you when you open the presents. For this Canadian group, it's
Album Review – Buddha Pesto Manifesto, Dave Caruso
By Peter Lee On 31 October 2017 In Reviews
"Listen to this song coming at you / As you hang on every word," sings Dave Caruso on "Listen to This," the opening track to his solo album Buddha Pesto Manifesto. The request is not so much a challenge


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My Dinner with Engels and Skybreak
Learning to Understand the World, For Real!
June 8, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Past weekend Revolution Books, one of the best bookstores in the world, was having a fundraising weekend as part of the first phase of raising money to save the bookstore and moved it to a new location. A big part of this weekend was a three day open mic—performances and a big used book sale. A group of people after the first day of performances went out to have dinner and chat, the night had been fun and powerful in different ways, and we were about to continue with that energy.
Some of us had recently gone to see a play called Nirbhaya. Nirbhaya tells the story of different women who have been raped and abused, but who kept the suffering to themselves for decades. It wasn't until the big uprisings of people when a woman was raped, tortured and killed by several man in a bus in New Delhi that a lot of women, including the actors in the play, were able to tell their stories, and unleash their fury to do something meaningful with that outrage.
So one of the people brought the topic of the play back, saying that she didn't think we could talk too much of it. And she was right.
The reason why women are viewed and treated as less than human beings came up as a fundamental question. In the context of the fight against black people oppression, the understanding that oppression of black people in this country is so profoundly link to its very foundation, and is an essential part of keeping the current order of things, in that context we were wondering where does this oppression of women comes from.
Right after that question was posted, we were wrangling with our own ideas of how and why did women end up in the position of breeders, reduced to sex objects and property. We, a group of 6 women, from different ages, backgrounds and nationalities, and different levels of understanding were digging into history, society development and biology to solve this question.
I have been reading the interview of Ardea Skybreak about Science and Revolution, and I felt like we were about to apply the scientific approach she talks about there. I can't put in words how excited I was when we started thinking about where all of this oppression comes from, because I knew we, from our understanding, were going to start looking for those patterns underneath the surface, right there, at a sushi place. We were doing the mental work that takes to really understand anything, and not just to go along with something we read or hear, but actually do the work and understand it. I was excited cause I agree with Skybreak that we need that approach to be able to understand the world we live in, but I have been struggling in how to go about it, how to gain that method and be able to use it. Even by having worked with science in academics, I was never introduced to the scientific method as Skybreak talks in the interview. You can imagine how exciting it was to know we were about to do that, to apply that method at a certain level, to understand this phenomenon. (I say a certain level cause of course you need more than a conversation to understand all the different aspects of this particular issue of women's oppression.) Revolution Books is the kind of place where people who have been studying and understanding society go to discuss ideas and built a movement to change the world, people that have studied how society works and how it could be different, people who have learned to apply the scientific method. So we were at this dinner with the support of more experienced and knowledgeable people who could direct us in the right direction in order to be able to find some of those underneath patterns.
It was very interesting hearing everybody's ideas, going back to primitive societies, and trying to find out why at some point women and man diverged from a more egalitarian relation to a more dominative and property based relation. I have read before in Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, by Frederick Engels, that it happened with the emergence of classes divisions. I was not sure to be able to sketch out Engels' discovery, because coming from a different country I don't trust my English skills very often, so I mentioned it and suggested somebody to explain more in detail what that meant. But no! That is not how revolutionaries go about things! I was encouraged to say what I knew, and I remember being nervous, because I read that book in Spanish, and was about to explain some of it in English. The thing is that I should try and did so, it took me a while to put my ideas together and to be able to make sense, but some how I did it, and people were getting into it. We talked about how after primitive societies started to have a production surplus, they could exchange that surplus for other products with other communities, also there was the possibility for some people to appropriate that surplus (emergence of class division). That way the concept of ownership was born and with it the need to control who will inherit what in the next generation. Who would inherit property and who would inherited what class position―what children were going to be part of one class or another, what children were going to be rulers or be ruled over. In other words, it became important to know whose were the children being born. And to know that, women's sexuality had to be controlled and women themselves were turned into property. This is a very complex process, and of course I am making it very flat and kind of simple but there were all kinds of things going on at the time. Sunsara Taylor went further drawing some important points and explaining what was happening in some of those societies at the time were class divisions emerged.
There were two specific things that really made an impact on me that were discussed that night.
When primitive communities provided enough wealth to meet the basic needs of their people, even when it was enough for everybody to survive, there wasn't enough for everybody to have abundance in a way that could have allowed them to dedicate part of their time to explore the world for other purposes than their own subsistence (for example wonder about different phenomenon and try to understand them, develop knowledge, etc). Because of the way things were being produced, it wasn't possible to provide abundance to everybody, instead, it was possible that the appropriation by some people of some of the wealth being produced, would free some of them from working with their hands, and allow them to work in the ideas sphere. That division of labor made possible for first time in history the development of all kinds of knowledge (for example time to look out to the space and develop astronomy, or the creation of writing, or people dedicated to the arts, etc). I have probably heard this before, but this wrangling and wondering, really helped me understand it in a different way. And with this "revelation" the understanding of the possibility of a world without classes came along. Because of the technology and capacity of production we have now, there is the capacity to meet the basic needs of humanity and at the same time to allow the flourishing of people in their whole capacities as humans!!! I can't imagine how exciting was for Marx and Engels to find out all the things they found, and all the possibilities that opened up with those discoveries! And I may be exaggerating but I think I felt just like them that night.
Sampler Edition Full Work
Once we talked for a while about the origin of women's oppression, and how it was rooted with the division of societies in classes, there was an statement made, that because of that, to get rid of it, we have to get rid of a society divided in classes. And yes I want to live in a society where classes not longer exist, but I was thinking on the veracity of that statement. I really wanted to understand it and not just accepted because it sounded right. So I asked why can't we eliminate this oppression in a world with classes? I wanted to think about how would that world look like, but I couldn't think of a way to do that. Again, people involved in the bookstore helped us out and suggested us to imagine a world where there was not important to know whose are the kids of the world. A world where it is not important to know who are the fathers of the children being born. And the place where this question took us, blew my mind even further.
The statement made all the sense then, because first of all, if there wasn't important who your father is there is not way to know which class you are going to be part of. Let's say your father is part of one class, it doesn't necessarily would mean that the kid being born was going to be in that class, just because WE WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW WHOSE KID WAS THAT, so how would you determine which kid is going to be part of one class or another? It just doesn't work, that society can't be. You can't have a society where it doesn't matter who is the father of the children being born and at the same time have classes. In that sense if you want to have classes, you have to control motherhood, therefore you can't have women fully emancipated if we don't get rid of class division! The whole concept of family then, wouldn't work either, family wouldn't really exist. If we think for example in a world where nobody can't claim the property of anything, and because a family right now is an economic group with properties and belongings, I wonder if in a society in which nobody have the right to claim something as a property, I wonder if there would be families at all? Something to dig into, to wonder, and to do the mental work, another opportunity to learn how and apply a scientific method and approach and take it even further using that approach to change the world.
Another thing I have been thinking about is all the different approaches and understanding that people have when they talk about revolution. There are a lot of things that people mean when they use that word that not necessarily has to do with really getting rid of all forms of oppression. No very long ago I was told by someone in "the Left" that because BA didn't talk about "the working class" enough—"which is the international class that is going to carry this revolution," said the person—his vision is not viable to make a revolution. It sticked in my mind and I have to deepen more in theory to understand the role of the proletariat and the other classes, and all the diversity that exists within the other classes in this revolution, all those other forms of oppression that not necessarily have to do with the class you are in, but there was something that we talked that night that gave us some lights about this issue. We were talking about how in the communist movement there was a basic understanding of women's liberation, but you could find the tendency of thinking that such a liberation would happen by dealing just with the economic sphere, meaning that changing the economic system will bring the liberation of women. And then I understood why BA doesn't just talk about the workers, but about ALL OPPRESSED, and that women's oppression is so deeply rooted in this society and the division of it in classes that you can't get rid of it just by changing the economic system, it has to be fought now, during socialism, and all the way to finally get to a communist world, free of classes and clean of women's oppression. And this is an understanding that BA has brought forward with the new synthesis of communism. So very much needed if you think about it!
It is important for people to do the mental work and to come to understand this things, to enable people with this tool of science, and use it to understand why and how a whole different radical world is possible. That is what Revolution Books is about. This is a place that brings people together to wrangle with ideas, and to enable more and more people to learn and use this method, to enable people to be part of changing everything. This is the place you should go if you want to be part of that transformation, and is the place you have to support and help save now!
Break ALL the Chains! Bob Avakian on the Emancipation of Women and the Communist Revolution
Science and Revolution: On the Importance of Science and the Application of Science to Society, the New Synthesis of Communism and the Leadership of Bob Avakian, an interview with Ardea Skybreak
A Declaration: For Women's Liberation and the Emancipation of all Humanity
End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women
DONATE NOW to Save and Move Revolution Books
Volunteers Needed... for revcom.us and Revolution
"No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that."
At the beginning of 2012, an in-depth interview with Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, was conducted over a period of several days by A. Brooks, a younger generation revolutionary who has been inspired by the leadership and body of work of Bob Avakian and the new synthesis of communism this has brought forward.
People need the truth about the communist revolution. The REAL truth. At a time when people are rising up in many places all over the world and seeking out ways forward, THIS alternative is ruled out of order. At a time when even more people are agonizing over and raising big questions about the future, THIS alternative is constantly slandered and maligned and lied about, while those who defend it are given no space to reply.
Contains Interview with Raymond Lotta, Timeline of The REAL History of Communist Revolution, and more...


In early 2013, Fu Ping published her autobiography Bend, Not Break, coauthored with Meimei Fox. The book, along with her media interviews, has been found to contain many exaggerations, distortions, and fabrications. Fu Ping has responded by claiming to be a victim of a "smear campaign" of ulterior motives.
This blog documents the facts, questions, and falsehoods behind her book and words.
They smear my name, they try to get my daughter's name on the Internet, they sent people to Shanghai to surround my family and to Nanjing to harass my neighbors.
A few weeks later, she raised the bar and claimed "this is Internet Terrorism."
None of the above accusations are true.
First of all, Fu Ping included her daughter's name in the "Acknowledgement" part of her book. It was also included in some of the earlier profiles on her success. For example, an article from her alma mater or an interview with WNYC.
The mystery of the Shanghai Villa where her family grew up has already been documented. Indeed, curious and diligent people have walked the streets in Shanghai tried to locate it but none have succeeded so far. It is therefore impossible to "surround" it.
Furthermore, members of Fu Ping's own family, including her mother, are all living abroad in USA. Her relatives in Shanghai have so far stayed outside of public controversy. Nobody has stepped up to validate her story. As a consequence, they are enjoying their privacy and could not have been "surrounded" by outsiders.
The only possibility is about her (former) neighbors in Nanjing. A couple of them did step up to provide information that refuted her story of her childhood. Unfortunately, most of these could not be substantiated either, for the lack of evidence and their choice of staying anonymous. However, there has been no complains about being harassed either.
Ping Fu has also said, this is a business memoir.... to her duaghter at the age of 18?


SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Marcellus Garrick scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half and finished 5 of 10 from 3-point range to help Cal Poly beat Division II Holy Names 68-47 on Friday night.
Donovan Fields scored nine of his 17 points in the first four minutes of the second half while Cal Poly (4-9) pulled away to a 45-26 lead. The Mustangs had their largest lead of 23 shortly before the final buzzer.
Mark Crowe added 13 for the Cal Poly, which had 13 steals while the Hawks had none.
Cal Poly fell behind 12-4 to start the game but rallied to take a 33-21 lead at halftime.
Jewels Sanders had 12 points and Jacob Dean added 10 for Holy Names, which shot 15 of 52 (29 percent) from the field.


RE: Restore - Every Nation Christian Church Brisbane Inc.
Join us this week as we continue with our RE series. Pastor Neli highlights how we have been made in the image of God. We have been created to impact culture and society. There is no greater blessing than getting involved in a relationship with somebody to help them grow with God.


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Bollywood fails to find movie magic in 2014
Posted on 02 January 2015 at 10:32
The year can't finish soon enough, as far as Bollywood is concerned. The world's biggest film industry by output struggled to churn out hits, with only a handful of films managing to make money at the box office due to an increasingly picky audience.
Revenue from domestic ticket sales was down by almost 1.5 billion rupees ($23.6 million) from last year, a result of high ticket prices and lackluster content that kept people away from theatres.
"After more than five years of high growth, 2014 has been a year of saturation and in fact, a degrowth of about 150-200 crore," said Shailesh Kapoor of Ormax Media, a firm which tracks Bollywood films. (1 billion = 100 crore)
The industry made 28 billion rupees ($441 million) in domestic theatrical revenue in 2013. In 2014, the figure is likely to be in the vicinity of 25 to 26 billion rupees, according to industry estimates.
In an industry where star power rules supreme and most studios are willing to back any project starring an A-list male actor, 2014 was a rude shock. Films that stuck to the usual action, romance and comedy formula that has long been a staple in the industry didn't find much favour at the box office.
Films like "Shaukeens","Action Jackson", and "Jai Ho", all of which had big stars at the helm, failed to score, while smaller ones like Vikas Bahl's "Queen" and Vinil Matthew's "Hasee toh Phasee" were well-received.
That is not to say that the big stars didn't hit paydirt. Shah Rukh Khan's "Happy New Year", which released in the peak Bollywood fails to find movie magic in 2014 period of Diwali, made 2.8 billion rupees ($44 million) in domestic theatrical sales, and Aamir Khan's year-end release "PK" seems all set to break that record.
"A film may not work now just because it has been mounted on a lavish scale and has a star in it. Even the big star film has to be made with an appropriate price and mounted accordingly. What has happened is that films have been made at exorbitant prices when the content doesn't warrant that kind of spending, and therefore have been unable to recover ROI," Rudrarup Datta, VP, Marketing at Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, which produced "Queen", told Reuters.
Starring Kangana Ranaut, "Queen" was an unusual sleeper hit by Bollywood standards. Made on a meager budget of $2.8 million, it ended up making more than three times that amount in domestic theatrical revenues alone. But not all small films were so lucky.
Films like Emraan Hashmi starrer "Raja Natwarlal", and "Ungli" sank without a trace.
"Audiences have realised that not all small films are good films. They need a high-concept, differentiating factor for them to be able to make that trip to the theatre and spend the thousand rupees that it will cost them," Kapoor of Ormax Media said.
2014 also suffered on another major front – music, a major selling point for films. Hardly any movie, apart from Mohit Suri's "Ek Villain" and Balaji's "Ragini MMS" had hit music, which is often a precursor to good ticket sales.
sauk"The serious lack of good music is also a factor in this year's report card. In fact 'Ragini MMS' did well because of the two songs by Yo Yo Honey Singh in them. Both proved very popular. 'Ragini MMS' is actually a Honey Singh film, not a Sunny Leone film," trade analyst Amod Mehra said, referring to the horror film that grossed 450 million rupees ($7 million) at the box office.
This year's lacklustre showing at the box office means 2015 will see a much more conservative approach by film studios.
"Profitability is of paramount importance. The lesson is that we have to be more careful, pick out projects more carefully and spend more time in the development of the project so that costs are in line with the return on investment," Datta of Viacom 18 said.
#movie_trailer
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#news_reel
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md-kamrul-hasan-milon
Hello all i am a social worker
[Artificial Intelligence] Wall-e and the Sentience of Robots
by lapiz-lazuli
No, this isn't a prequel nor a sequel to the movie, Wall-e. It's the movie itself, and how it is int…
[Artificial Intelligence] My Top EightFavorite Fictional AI's.
by Artbytes
Image Credit: @artbytes via Bitlanders Artificial Intelligence in The Movies and TV and other media…
The present and future of artificial intelligence
by Vimi
Image credit: Screenshot of Querlo chat BitLanders C-Blogging educates its readers about artificial…
[Artificial Intelligence] 5 Lessons From the Movie Wall-E
Image Credit: edited by @artbyes via Pixteller. Original image: Fanart.tv What could happen if we d…
[Artificial Intelligence] THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS Movie Review: Everything that has a beginning has an end
by amber255
[Artificial Intelligence] THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS Movie Review - Photo credit:youtube,edition by Ambe…


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layout: post
title: Train Buddy - TrainMap Beta.
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After being in alpha state for about a month Train Buddy v2 (with TrainMap) is moving to beta today.

For those who didn't know what's the TrainMap is, your initial guess is correct. It's a map of trains (in Srilanka). The way it work is, it gets the status data from application users (only when they allow) in the train and share it with all other users (To share the status data the location and mobile data has to be turned on in the device). Since the status (location/speed) of users in train being same with the status of the train, all the users now have a real-time map of trains.

There are few changes (since alpha) worth mentioning.

1. The location marker header now displays the destination and speed(km/h value) of the train.
2. Users can set the destination(string of length 3) of the train.
3. Back-end deletes the records not updated for 5 minutes. So users won't have to deal with stale statuses.
4. Time interval between two communications with the back-end is user configurable through settings screen.

Since the TrainMap needs both GPS and Mobile coverage to function correctly there are some areas where the statuses will not get updated. Also in the middle of train the GPS reception seems to be poor in some devices. But for overall application seems to be working OK. So far the application has been tested with few users/devices. And even from those few users getting feedback is harder than developing the application. :)

You can get the beta version from the link below.

[play.google.com/apps/testing/com.kasungamlath.trainbuddy](https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.kasungamlath.trainbuddy)

I would love to hear about your experience even it's terrible. You can give me your feedback through,

* this page itself as a comment
* this [community page](https://plus.google.com/communities/111728508620143036732) reserved for this application testers
* or even through social media/email is fine.

Update (17/9/2015):[Web client of TrainMap]({{ site.baseurl }}/train-map/) is available now.

Happy train stalking...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Hello everyone! The coolest crew for news and reviews is back baby! And boy-howdy is this a news heavy week. There's so much news that we didn't even have time for our review at the end. And as will be regular for every show from here on out, you can watch the podcast live video here! Hope you enjoy!
http://www.capesandscowlspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CS-13.5.mp3Hey there everyone, get ready for Capes and Scowls West issue #13.5! join us as we talk the best and worst comics in the past couple weeks! This is also our second ever live recorded podcast, so follow the link here and watch your favorite hosts in all their glory!


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Anna Strokowska – polska dialektolog, dr hab., profesor nadzwyczajny Katedry Dialektologii Polskiej Wydziału Filologicznego Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.

Życiorys
Obroniła pracę doktorską, następnie uzyskała stopień doktora habilitowanego. Była zatrudniona na stanowisku profesora nadzwyczajnego w Katedrze  Dialektologii Polskiej na Wydziale Filologicznym Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.

Przypisy

Polscy dialektolodzy
Wykładowcy Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Urodzeni w XX wieku

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Silver Spring Jazz Festival draws a crowd
Sept. 11, 2005, midnight | By Anna Coughlan | 15 years, 4 months ago
Thousands congregate to hear high school jazz bands and award-winning musicians
Downtown Silver Spring flourished yesterday as an estimated 15,000 people came to the second annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival on Ellsworth Avenue on the lawn across from the Majestic Cinema, according to police officers. High school jazz bands played on colorful floats, sponsors set up booths along Ellsworth and several world-renowned jazz artists, including Wynton Marsalis, performed on a stage erected on one side of the lawn.
Marsalis, a New Orleans native, and County Executive Doug Duncan spearheaded an effort to gather donations for Hurricane Katrina relief in which an estimated $22,000 was collected, according to American Red Cross staff. Throughout the event, staff members weaved through the throng carrying buckets to collect money for the American Red Cross to donate to victims. In addition, the festival was dedicated to jazz bassist Keter Betts, who lived in and gave back to the Silver Spring community.
Silver Spring Jazz Festival
Photo: People gather in downtown Silver Spring for the Silver Spring Jazz Festival on September 10. Click on picture to view gallery.
Blazers joined the mass of people; they came to enjoy the music and to spend time with friends. "I needed to get the eclectic taste of jazz," said sophomore Molly Martinez. Several junior girls were relaxing on the grass turf. "It's just a fun thing to do on a Saturday," said junior Willa Reddy. Freshmen Abraham Murrell and Jacob Hershman were excited about the jazz, being with friends and the flashlight and pen handouts.
The festival began in the afternoon with a jazz competition between bands from Albert Einstein High School, James Hubert Blake High School and the Jazz Academy of Music. The judges announced the Jazz Academy as the winner, but all three schools exhibited talent and soul. Einstein had two adept percussionists who moved fluidly with the beat. Blake had an electric guitar soloist, which made them unique. Several saxophone players from the Jazz Academy performed complex solos, clinching their victory. The judges, one of whom was Wynton Marsalis, had an "extremely difficult discussion" said Murray Horwitz, the Master of Ceremonies, but awarded the Borders Jazz Times Trophy to the Jazz Academy's music director, Paul Carr.
After the competition, harmonica virtuoso Frédéric Yonnet played onstage with his band. He jumped and twirled in front of the microphone, lively pursing his lips against the small instrument. During one song, he started a call and response with the audience. "How about the people in the back there?" he laughed out at the crowd. "You're not doing much."
The warmth that Yonnet radiated continued as the Ron Holloway Group came on to perform. They played a mixture of smoother, softer jazz and upbeat songs. In between two songs, Holloway chuckled at a man in the audience who she warned would break his chair if he kept dancing in it. Later, Holloway invited vocalist Michelle Walker on to perform several songs with the band. "Hey Silver Spring, how are you doing?" she called out as audience members cheered and clapped.
Following the Ron Holloway Group, Horwitz, the MC and the director of the AFI Silver Theatre, announced Carol Slone. "This lady certainly has a claim to be the best jazz singer ever known," he said. Slone walked onstage with a confident, powerful stage presence for her small stature. Her soft, relaxing voice carried throughout the block. "I couldn't care less," she crooned in one tune, shrugging her shoulder and waving her arm.
Wynton Marsalis at Silver Spring Jazz Festival
Photo: Wynton Marsalis, a nine-time Grammy Award- and Pultizer Prize-winner, plays a tune on his trumpet during the second annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival on the night of September 10.
Co-host of the Smooth Jazz morning drive and keyboarder and composer Marcus Johnson performed loud pop and funky jazz next. The stage lights switched from pink to red to orange to blue as the sun set on the scene. Johnson's dynamic personality showed through as his fingers flew on the keys and as he called out to the audience. "Do ya'll think we're about to get busy here?" he cried amid applause. Then later, "Are ya'll having fun? That's what I wanted to here! To all my people in the garage!" Spectators had gathered on the parking garage across from the lawn on Ellsworth Drive to get a better view. Johnson also recognized several Katrina victims in the crowd and called them up on stage as people clapped.
As Johnson exited, anticipation mounted for the grand finale: a performance by nine-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Marsalis played a smooth and calming form of jazz. He could make many different noises with his trumpet; during one song called "Big Fat Hen" he made chicken-like sounds. Audience members were swept into the spirit as people stood up to dance or wave handkerchiefs. Elderly people swayed slowly and young kids taught each other swing-dance moves on the lawn. At the end, the classy Marsalis congratulated the high school bands and thanked everyone for coming.
Gradually, the masses trickled away. Only the hardcore jazz fans and older people remained for a jam fest past 10 p.m. Yonnet and Holloway came back on stage with Marsalis to perform solos. Slower blues and jazz dominated the hour, saying goodnight to the Silver Spring community.
Anna Coughlan. Anna is a CAP junior who can't believe she's an upperclassman already. She likes to run Blair cross-country and track, do yoga, play soccer, and chill with fun-loving people. Anna is a big movie fan and loves the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Star … More »


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Tag: SundanceTV
Rectify / by Shilo Adams - June 10, 2014 1:02 pm
Rectify Season 2: Get a Behind the Scenes Look at the SundanceTV Drama
SundanceTV has released a behind the scenes featurette for the second season of acclaimed drama Rectify. Second two begins merely hours after the vicious beating Daniel took, which put him in a…
Rectify / by Shilo Adams - May 23, 2014 3:07 pm
Rectify Season 2 Trailer: It's Time to Join the Human Race
SundanceTV has released the official trailer for the second season of acclaimed drama Rectify, whose much-heralded first season was part of the network's tremendously strong 2013. Based on the trailer,…
The Red Road / by Shilo Adams - April 28, 2014 5:07 pm
The Red Road Renewed for Season 2 by SundanceTV
SundanceTV has announced that crime drama The Red Road, the network's second wholly owned scripted series, has been renewed for a second season. The show will return for a six-episode…


In this Article, I argue that the obstacles to having a serious conversation about torture are exacerbated by a truth that torture teaches us - a truth that we cannot afford fully to know and, so, frantically try to obscure. Law is about respect for commitments and limits, and the existence of torture challenges the possibility of such respect. If we are prepared to torture, then, it would seem, we are prepared to do anything, and the restraint that law purports to impose upon us is a fraud. Torture's truth, then, is that all of our promises to ourselves and to others are ultimately contingent. In related, albeit distinguishable, ways, torture shows us a truth about ourselves as individuals and as a society. In the most direct and literal sense, torture teaches us as individuals that we are slaves to our bodies and that our beliefs, our values, and our moral obligations - in short, all that makes us human - count for nothing when our bodies are at stake. And while this is true literally about the human body, it is also true metaphorically about the body politic. When it comes to it, we as human beings will do whatever it takes to stop the pain, just as we as societies will do whatever it takes to preserve our corporate identity.
To fully understand this truth is to deny that law is possible. Indeed, it is to deny that human life as we generally conceive of it is possible. For just this reason, we cannot know this truth. Yet neither can we fully evade it.
72 U. Chi. L. Rev. 881-918 (2005).
Seidman, Louis Michael, "Torture's Truth" (2005). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 562.


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India Has Highest Number Of People Without Basic Sanitation: Report
makaaniq November 18, 2017
India, the world's second-largest country by population, has the highest number of people without basic sanitation, according to a report. The report says that despite immense progress through the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, more than 732 million people still suffer fear and indignity of relieving themselves in the open or in unsafe or unhygienic toilets, a situation that is worse for women and girls.
"In India, a staggering 355 million women and girls are still waiting for a toilet; if they were all to stand in a queue, it would stretch around the Earth more than four times!," WaterAid's State of the World's Toilets 2017 report says.
The report, quoting government data, says there has undoubtedly been immense progress made in improving access to sanitation by working with the Swachh Bharat Mission, with 52 million household toilets built between October 2014 and November 2017.
"India also ranks in the top 10 for reducing open defecation and improving access to basic sanitation. But, there is still a long way to go," says the report, titled 'Out of Order.'
According to the report, after India, China, the world's most-populous country, comes in second, with 343 million people without decent toilets. However, it, too, has made a lot of progress since 2000, when 40 per cent of the population lacked basic sanitation.
Africa's most-populous country, Nigeria, is in the third place.
The report says globally, one in three people still have nowhere decent to go to the toilet, and demonstrates how women and girls bear the brunt of this global crisis.
For more than 1.1 billion women and girls, this injustice results in an increased risk of poor health, limited education, lost opportunities, vulnerability and embarrassment of having to go out in the open.
According to VK Madhavan, chief executive for WaterAid India, India is making rapid progress in improving sanitation under the ongoing Swachh Bharat Mission.
"We need to ensure inclusion, recognising the importance of safe and accessible toilets specific to the needs of the differently-abled, the elderly, the poorest, as well as women and adolescent girls," it said.
WaterAid is an international charity that engages in improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation.
Last Updated: Sat Nov 18 2017
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