My first job after graduating college in 1987 was at Nelvana, which at the time was Canada's largest animation house. I met friends there that are friends to this day.
Most of the employees there were multi-faceted artists. Some were animators, others were posers. There were layout artists, background artists, character designers, graphic designers, directors, producers, sound engineers, illustrators, writers; you get the idea. It was a very creative environment.
Many of these talented people were also musicians and songwriters, and I was lucky to have been able to play with a few of them on a number of occasions.
One animator I became friends with, a guy by the name of Willy Ashworth, formed a band with an old bandmate of mine, Denis Gonzalez, as well as friends Steve Whitehouse and Kirk Hudson. They called themselves Dropjaw. They recorded a cool little indie album in 1995, and I used to listen to it a lot.
One song that always stuck with me was this song, Shadows Down On Snow. Not sure why. I liked the melody. The lyrics were unique. The song fell into that realm between pop, roots, folk and country music. I think that's why I liked it. It was a cross-genre song.
I had the good fortune of playing this song live once with the composer, in late 1996, at El Mocambo in Toronto.
A few years ago, I asked Willy to rewrite the second verse, as I wasn't sure if I could pull off phrases like "and oh those pearl thighs" in a sincere way. After he wrote new ones and sent them to me though, while they too were good, I realized part of the "zing" remained in the rural charm of the original version. Willy is from Thorold, Ontario (near St. Catharines), and I'm from Sarnia, Ontario (on the American border to Michigan). We're both small town boys at heart. So I sing it as originally written.
If you're interested in hearing the original song, let me know, and I'll have Willy get in touch with you. It's a great album, but now it's a bit hard to find.


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Iranica
Pre-Achaemenid Era
Achaemenid Era
کوروش بزرگ -Cyrus the Great & the Cyrus Cylinder
Parthian Era & Pontus-Cappadocia
Sassanian Era
Firdowsi & the Shahname
The Women of Persia
Learning, Science, Knowledge, Technology & Medicine
Language, Literature, Education, Music & the Arts
Iranian Studies & Recent Developments
Pictures & Memories of Iran
Persianate Civilizations
Iran & Caucasia
People of Iran & Origins
Azarbaijan & Arran (Modern Republic of Azerbaijan)
Iran, China, India & Asia
Turco-Iranian Civilization
Iran & the Persian Gulf
The Kurds
Europa and Eire-An (Ancient Iran/Persia)
Culture, Mythology & Nowruz
Iran's Legacy in Islamic and Arabian Civilizations
Eurocentricism or Nordicism
Pan-Arabism, Wahhabism & Talibanism
Pan-Turkism or Pan-Altaism
Iranian Leftists, Pan-Islamists and Tehranism
Endangered Archaeological Sites and Artifacts
Iran at War: 1500-1988-(ایران در جنگ (۱۹۸۸-۱۵۰۰-
Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War-Персы: Армия великих царей-سایه‌های صحرا-
Elite Sassanian Cavalry-اسواران ساسانی-
Background & Ancestry
Seminars at US & European Universities
University of British Columbia-Continuing Studies (2004-2018)
Nobel-Prize Nominated WAALM-SCD
Tribute by University of British Columbia 2012
WAALM's Nomination for 2011 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Wall Street Journal & Reuters 2011
Peer-Reviewed Quarderni Asiatici Journal of Italy 2011
Peer-reviewed Iranshenasi Journal 2010
Review by University of Tehran 2010
Scholarship & Merit Award 2009
Citation of Book in the BBC 2008
Best History Book Award 2008
Citation by London-based Kayhan Newspaper 2008
Benjamin Franklin Award Finalist 2008
Citation by Langara College
WAALM Certificate of Appreciation for Empower Africa Conference April 7, 2010
History Channel: Engineering an Empire-The Persians
مستند: آغاز یک امپراطوری – هخامنشیان
Kaveh Farrokh on Armenian State TV
Other Western & Iranian Media Venues
Kaveh Farrokh Interview: Sassanian Asvaran and Response to Eurocentrists
Kaveh Farrokh Interview -Part Two: Eurocentricism and anti-Iran Revisionism
Pars TV interview December 18, 2011: Loss of Territories and Partitioning of Iran
The Tajiks of Northwest China
You are here: Home / Persianate Civilizations / Iran, China, India & Asia / The Tajiks of Northwest China
Few realize that China is host to s small population of Iranian-speakers who are Tajiks akin to those in Tajikestan and fellow-Iranic peoples in Iran, Afghanistan, Caucasia and the Kurds of Iraq, Turkey and Syria.
More research is required in the study of these peoples in China to help address current misconceptions in this domain. As asserted by Dr. William Saffron:
"There is a group of 26,000 Indo-Iranian speakers in China in the Pamirs near the Karakorum highway…the Chinese government…calls them Tajiks…However Tajik is not spoken in China" (Saffron, 1998, pp.75).
This claim is contradicted by TV programs in Chinese television which show Chinese Tajiks singing in Tajiki (essentially akin to Persian) – kindly consult U-Tube links below:
Chinese-Tajik girl sings a Persian-Tajiki song at China's Shisu University
Tajikan – Tajiks on Chinese TV from Taj Qurghan of China
Chinese scholars have provided somewhat more accurate information on these Chinese-Tajiks. One example is Dr.'s Du and Yip who note that:
"Most Tajiks in China speak Tajik…" (Du & Yip, 1993, pp.93).
The accent of this particular Chinese-Tajiki is phonologically similar to those Persian vernaculars seen in Afghanistan, parts of eastern Khorasan and of course Tajikestan.
Iran and China have enjoyed cultural links harking back to late Achaemenid times (400s to 330 BC). Chinese archaeologists unearthed evidence that non-Chinese workers of Iranic origins helped build the terracotta army mausoleum (near the north-west city of Xian). This is the resting place of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died more than 2,200 years ago.
The Terracotta Army near the northwest city of Xian which contains (at least) 8,000 life-sized terracotta warriors & horses. It is estimated that up to 700,000 laborers worked on the imperial Tomb. Chinese archaeologists have discovered that Iranian craftsmen dated to the Achaemenid era worked alongside their local Chinese colleagues to construct these figures.
Emperor Qin Shi Huang who unified China. His legacies include building the foundation of the first Great Wall of China and the great mausoleum bearing the massive terracotta army.
Professor Tan Jingze, an anthropologist with Fudan University, told the Chinese Xinhua News Agency:
"One sample has typical DNA features commonly owned by the Parsi [Zoroastrians]… the Kurds … and the Persians in Iran…"
These finds are highly significant as this strongly suggests that Iranian craftsmen of the Persepolis tradition were present in Qin China. Earlier studies had suggested that the first Chinese-Iranian contacts had occurred later during Han dynasty (206 BC-220 CE).
Iranian-speaking Tajik women from China. These are mainly clustered in the Karakorum region.
There are also Tajik-speaking residents in the predominantly Turkic-speaking Uighur region of Xinxiang province of northwest China, especially in the osasis city of Kashgar.
Tajik-speakers from Kashgar.
Shop with modified Persian script in Kashgar, northwest China. This is one of the legacies of the historical silk route straddling between ancient Iran and China, having its orgins in the pre-Islamic era and enduring well into the post-Islamic era. The shop sign reads "Jaanan Zaaferan" or Jaanan's saffron.
Further Readings:
Bernstein, W.J. (2009). A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Grove Press.
Du, R. & Yip, V.F. (1993). Ethnic Groups in China. Science Press.
Hayashi, R. & Ricketts, R. (1975). The Silk Road and the Sosho-in. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Saffron. W. (1998). Nationalism and Ethnoregional Identities in China. Routledge Publishers.
Anahit – The Armenian equivalent of Iranian Goddess Anahita
Music of the Lezgians
Ossetian Music and Dance
Position of Armenian within the Scope of Indo-European Languages
Professor Aleksandre Gvakharia: Literary Contacts of Georgia with Persia
Professor Fridrik Thordarson: Linguistic Contacts between Iran and the Caucasus
Professor Pierre Thorez: Physical Geography, Population, and Economy of the Caucasus
The Music of Armenia
The Music of Georgia
Where is Azarbaijan: Bakikhanov's Golistan e Aram by Ali Abdali
Criticism of BBC Report on Genetic Research
Dr. Maziar Ashrafian's study on the Common Genetic Origin of the People of Iran
Professor Ahmad Ashraf: Iranian Identity in Medieval Islamic era
Professor Ahmad Ashraf: Iranian Identity in the 19th and 20th centuries
Professor Ahmad Ashraf: Iranian Identity in the pre-Islamic Era
Professor Ahmad Ashraf: Iranian Identity-Perspectives
Professor Rudi Matthee's notes on Persian Language and Culture
نگاهی به مسئلۀ «زبان و قومیت» در ایران-An Examination of the issue of "Language and Ethnicity" in Iran
An analysis of the ancient language of Azarbaijan by Professor Diakonov
Encyclopedia Brittanica (1911): Defines Azarbaijan
Genetic Studies: Iranian Azaris show Iranian DNA profile similar to Kurds
Mani Parsa: Azarbaijan and Arran
Nozhat al-Majales
Persian Language Inscription by Shah Abbas for Baku, Arran and Shirvan and
Professor C.E. Bosworth: Arran (The new Republic of Azarbaijan)
Professor Enayatollah Reza: Arran-The Real name of the Republic of Azarbaijan
Professor Moḥammad Amin Riyaḥi: Nozhat al Majales
Safarnameye Abdullah
Bijan Khalili Interview: Influence of Ancient Iran upon Europe
Professor Arthur O. Pope: Gothic Architecture and Persian Origins
Professor Nassrollah Bayat: The Impact of Iranian Culture and Language in Poland
Professor Victor H. Mair: Review of C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor's From Scythia to Camelot
American Journal of Physical Anthropology: Prehistorical East-West admixture of maternal lineages in a 2,500-year-old population in Xinjiang
Ancient Persia: Influences on Ancient Chinese and Japanese Calendars
Influence of Parthian Horse Archery on China
Mitochondrial DNA analysis of ancient Sampula population in Xinjiang
Tajik song: Farzonai Khurshed Jurajon
Iran's Reza Shah conversing in Turkish with Turkey's Mustafa Kemal Attaturk
Osman G. Özgudenli: Persian Manuscripts in Ottoman and Modern Turkish Libraries
British Times Newspaper of 1913
Discovery of 3000 year old Board Games and Compass at Kharq Island
Egyptian Maps of the Persian Gulf
Marco Polo and the Persian Gulf
Kamkaran
Linguistic Similarties between New Persian, Hawrami, Sorani Kurdish and Old Persian
Professor Kreyenbroek The Kurdish Romance Mem E Alan
Professor Pierre Oberling: The Kurdish Hamavand tribe
Professor Pierre Oberling: The Kurdish Tribes
Professor Pierre Oberling: The Milan Tribe
BBC program on Zoroastrianism
Dr. Ali A. Jafary: Nowruz (New Dat) of the Iranian Peoples
Image of Mithra born of the Rock
Massoume Price: Nowruz as the Most Important Iranian Cultural Event Ideological roots
Massoume Price: The Night of Yalda on December 21-22
Nowruz Celebrations in Baku
Professor Mary Boyce: Nowruz in the Pre-Islamic Era
Professor P.E. MacAllister: The Hebrew Faith and its Debt to Zoroastrianism
Professor Shapur Shahbazi: Nowruz in the Islamic Era
Professor Simone Cristoforetti: Nowruz in the Iranian Calendar
Video: Mithraism and Christianity
Ibn Khaldun: Role of Iranians in Islamic Civilization
The Hêrbedestân
Archaeological Finds in Mazandaran, Northern Iran
Book: Tappeh Sialk, The Glory Of Ancient Kashan
An Overview of the History of Mithraism
Persian Roots of Puccini's Opera Turandot (Turandokht)
Achaemenid Military History
Achaemenids
Aghanistan
Burnt City
Christianity and Iran
Clothing and Attire
Courses and Curricula
Cultural and Endangered Sites
Cultural News and Events
Cyrus the Great
Daghestan
Eurocentricism
Events and Citations
Greece-Persia Links
India and Asia
Iran and Caucasia
Iran and Central Asia
Iran and China
Iran and Europe
Iran and India
Iran and Japan
Iran and the Persian Gulf
Iran and Turkey
Jews and Iran
Jiroft
Judeo-Christian Theology
Memories of Iran
Military History 1900-Present
Military History 700-1899
Musical Arts
Mythology and Nowruz
Neolithic Era
Nordicism
Pan-Arabism
Pan-Turanism
Parthian Military History
People of Iran and Origins
Persianate
Pictures and Memories of Iran
Pontus & Cappadocia
Sassanian Military History
Sassanians
Scythians and Alans
Shahnameh
Society & Social Developments
The Pre Medo-Achaemenid Era
Travel Roads and Shipping
Turco-Iranian or Persianate Civilization
Women of Persia
The Dorbayanis
Connect the Dots for Morality
International Human Rights & Peace Resolution Conference, Africa
Diplomatic Journal
H.E President Museveni of Uganda hosts the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Ministers
6Qs with Olivia Faye
About Dr. Kaveh Farrokh
Dr. Kaveh Farrokh is dedicated to the Advancement of Ancient Iranian and Classical Studies. The relationship between ancient Iran and the civilizations of the Greco-Roman world (and its European successors), India, China and the Far East, and the Arabo-Islamic world are a major focus of this website. Civilizations are rarely conceived in a vacuum and are often the result of the synthesis of a number of elements, examples being the Roman Empire, ancient Iran and India.
The HêrbedestânJanuary 12, 2020 - 5:07 pm
Kaveh Farrokh's Book cited by US Independent Book...November 10, 2008 - 5:14 pm
An overview of BisotunNovember 16, 2008 - 6:08 pm
Archaeological Finds in Mazandaran, Northern IranJanuary 5, 2020 - 10:10 pm
Book: Tappeh Sialk, The Glory Of Ancient KashanDecember 28, 2019 - 11:32 am
Citations and Awards Events Events and Citations Pan-Turkism
Categories Select Category Achaemenid Military History (32) Achaemenids (90) Aghanistan (7) Anthropology (31) Archaeology (50) Architecture (18) Aviation (3) Book Review (40) Books and Monographs (7) Bronze Age (4) Burnt City (2) Central Asia (8) China (15) Christianity and Iran (12) Clothing and Attire (6) Courses and Curricula (26) Culinary Arts (12) Cultural and Endangered Sites (24) Cultural News and Events (97) Culture (40) Cyrus the Great (38) Daghestan (5) Education (13) Elam (8) Engineering (3) Environment & Wildlife (3) Eurocentricism (23) Europa and Eire-An (Ancient Iran/Persia) (46) Events and Citations (14) Games (1) Greece-Persia Links (29) Heritage (223) Historical Revisionism (32) India and Asia (23) Iran (10) Iran and Caucasia (72) Iran and Central Asia (26) Iran and China (5) Iran and Europe (74) Iran and India (5) Iran and Japan (5) Iran and the Persian Gulf (15) Iran and Turkey (6) Jews and Iran (15) Jiroft (2) Journal Articles (17) Judeo-Christian Theology (13) Language & Linguistics (2) Learning (21) Linguistics (3) Literature (7) Mathematics (2) Medes (9) Media (2) Medicine (10) Memories of Iran (3) Military History 1900-Present (74) Military History 700-1899 (30) Mithraism (19) Musical Arts (1) Mythology and Nowruz (33) Neolithic Era (6) News (188) Nordicism (3) Pan-Arabism (3) Pan-Turanism (7) Parthian Military History (31) Parthians (53) People of Iran and Origins (56) Persian Gulf (12) Persianate (3) Pictures and Memories of Iran (5) Pontus & Cappadocia (4) Sassanian Military History (51) Sassanians (86) Science (12) Scythians and Alans (29) Shahnameh (12) Society & Social Developments (1) Technology (20) The Kurds (12) The Pre Medo-Achaemenid Era (22) Travel Roads and Shipping (3) Turco-Iranian or Persianate Civilization (30) UNESCO (11) Women of Persia (18) Zoroastrianism (66)
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© 2015 Dr. Kaveh Farrokh. All Rights Reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Kettleman Hills
Facility Expansion
Version en Espanol
>Fact Sheets
>Groundwater and Hydrogeology
Groundwater and Hydrogeology
Over the past 25 years, a tremendous amount of data have been collected and analyzed with respect to the groundwater and hydrogeologic conditions at the Kettleman Hills Facility (KHF). These data provide a detailed and clear understanding of subsurface conditions beneath the site and support a common conclusion: the Kettleman Hills Facility is not impacting groundwater for the residents of Kettleman City or in the Kettleman Plain.
Intensive Data Collection History and Analyses
Since the mid-1980s, approximately 200 soil borings, some to more than 500 feet below ground surface, have been drilled at the KHF to characterize subsurface conditions. The surface and subsurface geology has been examined and recorded by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Groundwater data have been collected for more than 25 years from nearly 100 on‐site groundwater monitoring wells. Water levels are measured at least four times per year in 48 monitoring wells to verify continually groundwater flow conditions.
The geology of the area has been investigated since the late 1800's, with the most definitive geologic work on the area done in 1940. As a result, a definitive characterization of the subsurface geology is available for study.
Stagnant Groundwater Conditions
Groundwater occurs beneath the KHF in individual sandstone layers at depths of approximately 350 to 520 feet below ground surface. These sandstone layers are steeply inclined, dipping sharply towards the southwest, away from Kettleman City.
Individual sandstone layers are separated from each other by claystone and siltstone beds that significantly restrict the movement of groundwater. Movement of groundwater in the sandstone layers is very slow to essentially stagnant, with a maximum velocity of approximately four feet per year, or 400 feet per century.
Groundwater has been calculated to move at a rate 10,000 times slower through the claystone and siltstone beds, than it would through individual sandstone layers.
Groundwater that was present when the site first opened in the early 1970's has not moved more than 200 feet, and would require more than 1,800 years to travel across the site, and more than 17,000 years to move to the nearest plausible discharge outlet.
Age-dating indicates the groundwater beneath KHF is 16,000 to 30,000 years old. Typical of extremely old and stagnant water, it is very salty (also known as "brackish"), to the point that in 1989 the state of California resolved that groundwater within one‐half mile of the area permitted for waste disposal would not be useable for as a municipal or domestic water supply.
KHF Groundwater is Isolated from Other Water Sources
There is no plausible pathway for groundwater to migrate from below the site to drinking water resources of the Kettleman Plain or the San Joaquin Valley. Siltstone and claystone barriers isolate groundwater below the site from other geologic formations and from drinking water supplies.
The sandstone beds beneath KHF dip toward the southwest, away from water supply wells in the vicinity of Kettleman City. Groundwater cannot move eastward from the site toward the San Joaquin Valley.
Although studies have confirmed that groundwater movement does not occur down deep in the sandstone beds, even if this were to occur, the San Joaquin Formation plunges to a depth of several thousand feet below the drinking water resources of the Kettleman Plain.
WM.com
©2023 WM Intellectual Property Holdings, LLC.


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Apple/
Logitech made the iPad Pro charging dock Apple refused to
The Logi Base is the first accessory outside of keyboards to use the Pro's Smart Connector
By Dan Seifert / @dcseifert
Apr 26, 2016, 7:01 AM UTC |
Logitech today announced the new Logi Base for the iPad Pro, a charging dock that makes use of the Pro's connector pins to charge and sync the tablet with a computer. The Base, which supports both the 12.9-inch and 9.7-inch versions of the iPad Pro, is made from aluminum, has a non-slip base and magnets to easily align the iPad with the charging pins, and sells for $99.99.
The Logi Base is similar to Apple's charging dock for the iPhone, but is obviously larger and designed to hold the iPad Pro's weight. It can be used to display the tablet in a variety of locations, such as at a desk, in the kitchen, or on a nightstand. The use of the iPad's Smart Connector is clever, as you don't have to fuss with plugging in a cable when you need to charge or unplugging it when it's time to leave. My only complaint is that you need to remove the iPad from the Smart Cover or Smart Keyboard before putting on the Base.
If that sounds like something you're interested in, you can buy the Logi Base from Logitech or Apple starting today.
Verge Reviews: The new iPad Pro
The best smartphone you can buy for under $500
The best phone to buy right now
Apple's Studio Display costs a slightly less ridiculous $1,299 at Amazon
Quick fixes: how to transfer iPhone videos to a Windows PC when it keeps disconnecting


1. To connect by or as if by lacing together; interweave.
2. To intersperse; intermix: interlaced the testimony with half-truths.
To intertwine: "As the earth thaws, numberless little streams are formed to overlap and interlace with one another" (Joyce Carol Oates).


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Posts Tagged 'COBOL V6.2'
GAO Blames Z for Government Inefficiency
Check out the GAO report from May 2016 here. The Feds spent more than 75 percent of the total amount budgeted for information technology (IT) for fiscal year 2015 on operations and maintenance (O&M). In a related report, the IRS reported it used assembly language code and COBOL, both developed in the 1950s, for IMF and IDRS. Unfortunately, the GAO conflates the word "mainframe" to refer to outdated UNISYS mainframes with the modern, supported, and actively developed IBM Z mainframes, notes Ross Mauri, IBM general manager, Z systems.
Mainframes-mobile in the cloud courtesy of Compuware
The GAO repeatedly used "mainframe" to refer to outdated UNISYS mainframes alongside the latest advanced IBM Z mainframes. COBOL, too, maintains active skills and training programs at many institutions and receives investment across many industries. In addition to COBOL, the IBM z14 also runs Java, Swift, Go, Python and other open languages to enable modern application enhancement and development. Does the GAO know that?
The GAO uses the word "mainframe" to refer to outdated UNISYS mainframes as well as modern, supported, and actively developed IBM Z mainframes. In a recent report, the GAO recommends moving to supported modern hardware. IBM agrees. The Z, however, does not expose mainframe investments to a rise in procurement and operating costs, nor to skilled staff issues, Mauri continued.
Three investments the GAO reviewed in the operations and maintenance clearly appear as legacy investments facing significant risks due to their reliance on obsolete programming languages, outdated hardware, and a shortage of staff with critical skills. For example, IRS reported that it used assembly language code and COBOL (both developed in the 1950s) for IMF and IDRS. What are these bureaucrats smoking?
The GAO also seems confused over the Z and the cloud. IBM Cloud Private is designed to run on Linux-based Z systems to take full advantage of the cloud through open containers while retaining the inherent benefits of Z hardware—security, availability, scalability, reliability; all the ities enterprises have long relied on the z for. The GAO seems unaware that the Z's automatic pervasive encryption immediately encrypts everything at rest or in transit. Furthermore, the GAO routinely addresses COBOL as a deficiency while ISVs and other signatories of the Open Letter consider it a modern, optimized, and actively supported programming language.
The GAO apparently isn't even aware of IBM Cloud Private. IBM Cloud Private is compatible with leading IT systems manufacturers and has been optimized for IBM Z. All that you need to get started with the cloud is the starter kit available for IBM OpenPOWER LC (Linux) servers, enterprise Power Systems, and Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix. You don't even need a Z; just buy a low cost OpenPOWER LC (Linux) server online and configure it as desired.
Here is part of the letter that Compuware sent to the GAO, Federal CIOs, and members of Congress. It's endorsed by several dozen members of the IT industry. The full letter is here:
In light of a June 2018 GAO report to the Internal Revenue Service suggesting the agency's mainframe- and COBOL-based systems present significant risks to tax processing, we the mainframe IT community—developers, scholars, influencers and inventors—urge the IRS and other federal agencies to:
Reinvest in and modernize the mainframe platform and the mission-critical applications which many have long relied upon.
Prudently consider the financial risks and opportunity costs associated with rewriting and replacing proven, highly dependable mainframe applications, for which no "off-the-shelf" replacement exists.
Understand the security and performance requirements of these mainframe applications and data and the risk of migrating to platforms that were never designed to meet such requirements.
The Compuware letter goes on to state: In 2018, the mainframe is still the world's most reliable, performant and securable platform, providing the lowest cost high-transaction system of record. Regarding COBOL it notes that since 2017 IBM z14 supports COBOL V6.2, which is optimized bi-monthly.
Finally, about attracting new COBOL workers: COBOL is as easy to work with it as any other language. In fact, open source Zowe has demonstrated appeal to young techies, providing solutions for development and operations teams to securely manage, control, script, and develop on the mainframe like any other cloud platform. What don't they get?
DancingDinosaur is Alan Radding, a veteran information technology analyst, writer, and ghost-writer. Follow DancingDinosaur on Twitter, @mainframeblog, and see more of his work at technologywriter.com.
Tags:analytics, Big Data, Cloud, COBOL V6.2, Go, Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix, IBM, IBM Cloud Private, Java, Linux, LinuxONE, mainframe, mobile, OpenPOWER LC, Power Systems, Python, Swift, System z, technology, Zowe


The eyes are said to be the "window to the soul." However, they also provide your outlook on life. Many people view sight as the most important of the five senses. As Veterans look to improve their overall health, keeping tabs on eye health is an important piece of the puzzle.
January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. It's a good reminder for all Veterans to make sure they know the warning signs of eye disease. It's also a great time to plan eye appointments and to become familiar with the tools available on My HealtheVet to help manage your health.
Glaucoma and another condition such as cataracts primarily affect older persons. However, other eye conditions, like diabetic eye disease, dry eye and vascular changes related to, heart disease sometimes caused by an unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, drinking in excess) also occur with increasing frequency as one ages.
Veterans who have been subject to blast injuries, even if not direct, may have a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which can affect Veterans of any age.
Some of these disorders go undetected until the damage is bad, which is why it is important to maintain your eyes. Gerald J. Selvin, O.D., Chief of Optometry at the VA Boston Health Care System, explains. "By the time a patient with glaucoma experiences vision changes, the eyes are usually already damaged. It isn't unusual for early glaucoma, which causes no symptoms, to be discovered by chance when a Veteran comes in for something routine like glasses."
"Sudden loss or change-even a very brief blackout or gray out-is especially alarming because it could mean impending stroke," says Dr. Selvin. "The eyes are extensions of the brain, so Veterans always need to remain proactive about having any vision change evaluated."
...most Veterans qualify for free eyeglasses? Ask your vision care specialist about this program.
If you experience any of the symptoms listed below or any changes in your vision, schedule an eye appointment.
How can VA Medical Centers and My HealtheVet help?
There are tools and resources available to all Veterans to help manage eye care.
The Appointment Calendar and Secure Messaging features on My HealtheVet are great tools for keeping track of your visits to the eye care specialist. VA Appointments in My HealtheVet lets you review current and past VA appointments. You can also set up appointment reminders via email. To see your appointments, simply log in to My HealtheVet, select the Get Care tab, select the Appointments tab, or select the Health Calendar tab. Enter your information, and you're all set.
If your eye doctor determines that you need glasses, most Veterans can receive them from the VA with no out-of-pocket costs.
Conditions requiring surgery such as visually significant cataracts can be managed by the VA's outstanding team of eye surgeons located close to most Veterans' homes.
The VA is also the father of low vision care as we know it today, said Dr. Selvin. "Way back in 1948, the VA offered the very first rehabilitative eye care for the visually impaired. Today, the mandate is for each eye clinic in the VA to offer basic low vision services and more extensive treatment for legally blind and near blind veterans in each region."
Wear protective eye gear, such as goggles or glasses, whenever working in an area where debris can fly around.
Wear protective eyewear when playing a high impact sport, such as racquetball.
Make sure you have adequate lighting when reading to avoid eye fatigue, making it more difficult to stay on task.


Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is the largest hospital in Western Australia. The Wellington Street campus has about 600 beds and is located on the edge of the inner city. The emergency department (ED) has an annual census of around 55 000, with an admission rate of 44%. Forty-two per cent of all attendances arrive by ambulance, and data from the ambulance service indicate that RPH receives more priority one ambulances than the other major teaching hospitals combined. From 1996 to 2001, attendances increased by 14% and admissions by 16%. In the same time, inpatient bed numbers have been reduced by about a third. Before 1999, ambulance bypass was extremely rare.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, WA.


Staff was very friendly and helpful. Clean space and love that it is pet friendly!
Thanks for your review! What can we do to improve?
I'm sorry to hear it! Can you tell us why?
The snow in the winter in the parking lots is really bad. Please plow the snow more frequently.
The carpet I have in my apartment is terrible and it was terrible when I moved in.
I'm sorry you're unhappy with your carpet. Does it need cleaned? We offer carpet cleaning, or another upgrade, annually with a lease renewal. Did we note the condition at move-in? Perhaps I could take a look for you to determine if it needs replaced. We want you to be happy with your apartment. Please give us a call to discuss your options.
Eastpointe Apartments and Townhomes in Northwood, Ohio is your best value offering spacious apartments with modern kitchens. We offer 1, 2 and 3 bedroom garden apartments plus 2, 3 and 4 bedroom townhomes. Our community features central air conditioning, gas stove/oven, dishwasher, free heat and water, and children's playground. We are located within the Lake School District and just minutes from I-280. Call today to find out more about Eastpointe Apartments & Townhomes.
I'm interested in Eastpointe Apartments and Townhomes. Please let me know when this listing is available on ApartmentGuide.


Oh, that color–so vibrant! I love it.
What an abundance of flowers – stunning!
Beautiful mums Cee. I am hoping to get to Longwood Gardens tomorrow for the end of their Chyrsanthemum Festival, but today there is snow falling, and I hope it disappears by early morning tomorrow.
I don't know if I will get there now or not. The melting snow mean water and the Brandywine Creek often floods over the road that leads to Longwood. If I don't make I will definitely get there for the Christmas display this year and share some photographs.
What a stunning show of blooms! I'm struggling to like, let alone comment, other than through the Reader, which is causing me some issues because I like to see posts on the actual blog as the blogger intended. For example, if I hop directly from my blog to yours using the link, I can't interact. I'm hoping it's a temporary blip as it makes the links less useful.
I've been having troubles for months. I find if you follow people and have emails of them, you like works fine through the email link. It will automatically open up the post too.
If you work on an Apple, you will have problems. It is to do with their secutity. WordPress have now added a help, but not a great one.
Really, I didn't realize it's an apple thing. Thanks.
I think I might have found something. In Safari – Preferences – Privacy, prevent cross-site tracking was ticked. Unticking it seems to have made things better – fingers crossed! It might be something to try.


text:
Enjoy Michael Egleton Music
Hello my new friends! I'm happy to be a part of the Indie-Music.com family! Please join M.E. @ www.michaelegletonmusic.com to hear and to learn more about Soul, Jazz and Blues recording artist, Michael Egleton!
Michael Egleton, is a fresh new, soulful sound with an old flare, innovative techniques and style. His music is simple yet mature. Nothing too complicated. A straight to the point vibe, that's refreshing in today's music. He has developed what is now, his "signature sound" which has been described as Gospel, Blues, Soul and Jazz all rolled up into one with the raw emotion of a classic Soul crooners. This makes him unique and one of a kind. It's Music For the Body… Music from the Soul… Music of the Heart…
Enjoy, "Behind These Walls feat Bob Esterle" by Michael Egleton – https://www.reverbnation.com/michaelegleton/song/27096080-behind-these-walls-feat-bob-esterle?0&pwc%5Bbranded%5D=1
https://www.reverbnation.com/artist/video/14485569
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megleton
Michael Egleton, is a fresh new, soulful sound with an old flare, innovative techniques and style. His music is simple yet mature. Nothing too complicated. A straight to the point vibe, that's refreshing in today's music. He has developed what is now, his "signature sound" which has been described as Gospel, Blues, Soul and Jazz all rolled up into one with the raw emotion of a classic Soul crooners. This makes him unique and one of a kind. At the age of seven, Michael Egleton was introduced to music when his mom brought home a guitar for Christmas. He continued to play and experiment with numerous instruments before finding his musical connection with the keyboard. Michael began his musical career by playing and composing Gospel music for local artists and churches. Throughout the years his passion for music has broaden to include various genres such as Jazz, Blues, R&B and Soul. Originally from Barberton, Ohio, Michael now resides in Akron, Ohio and makes his music home in Atlanta, GA, commuting to and from as time permits during the year. Some of Michael's musical influences are, Donnie Hathaway, David Ruffin, Michael Henderson, Bobby Blue Bland, Teddy Pentergrass, Lenny Williams, DJ Rodger and Billy Paul, to name a few. The life stories of Mr Steve Harvey and Mr Charlie Wilson has greatly influenced Michael's musical journey. Their paths to success has made an intense impression on Michael and his journey for success. Michael has released 3 independent projects. His most recent, That's Alright The Rewind has received many great music reviews and much has being written about this project. His award winning, independent project, A Look Into My Heart, afforded Michael quite a bit notoriety and attention with him going on to win three awards and two nomination. He has won the Ohio Music Awards, Adult Contemporary, The Top 25 Most Listen To Artists for 2014 with the "It's All Soul To Me" radio program with its host the late Mr. Simon Darke in the UK, a 2016 Akedemia Music Award, Adult Contemporary, and two nominations, 2014 and 2016, with the IMA Music Awards. A Look Into My Heart has been written about all over the world in online news sources and has even been featured in a CNN News i-report, CBS, ABC, NBC, BBC, and the News wire. That's Alright The Rewind is now enjoying the same attention. Baby Baby Baby was one of Michael's first independent releases and was his doorway into finding his musical personality. He has currently begun work on another independent release, In The Q with two songs released from this project, Situations and Love Song while yet enjoying the success of songs from That's Alright The Rewind and A Look Into My Heart. That's Alright The Rewind and A Look Into My Heart are a main stay in the top of music charts for the Akron, Cleveland, Ohio and also the regional areas in the Blues, Soul and Jazz genres. Michael has maintained this status with many online music mediums also. All of Michael's life experiences and lessons shapes him as a musician and are reflected in his music. Michael is presently signed with the award winning and BET nominated Blue-Artists Branding and Marketing Group. His long play EPK, produced by the award winning movie director, Pierre Walters, has garnered much attention. Michael Egleton is a name quickly becoming noticed for his music abilities and hopes to be among those recognized music greats one day. www.michaelegletonmusic.com Sounds Like: Donny Hathaway, David Ruffin, Isaac Hayes, Johnny Taylor, Michael Henderson, Billy Paul Label: Independent For Booking Contact: Ms Constance Quigley, 541-961-46824 Michael Egleton, Soul, Jazz and Blues artist, Latest Release: That's Alright the Rewind, Independent
Methods – New Single 'MANKIND'
Ali Jacko's "Give My Love A Brand New Name" Hits #18 On The Music Week Commercial Pop Club Chart
WORLD5 to release first single of their third studio album on Spectra Records
Andy Michaels: Singer/Songwriter/Poetic


text:
Case Study Video Production
Interview Video Production
What AI Means for Marketers – Alex Vaidya CEO of StoryStream at CMA's Digital Breakfast [VIDEO]
by Dana Lockwood | Feb 26, 2018 | Corporate video
There are many misconceptions surrounding artificial intelligence. Many people think of machines similar to the baddies found in The Matrix. Others may picture robots exterminating the human race. AI is, in fact, the next great tool in communication.
Alex Vaidya, CEO of StoryStream, recently gave a talk featuring what AI can do for marketers, and it doesn't involve robots. His presentation at a recent CMA Digital Breakfast delved into the revolutionary tools AI can provide, and how you can use those tools in your marketing strategy.
What is AI?
The first question Alex asks is, what is AI? AI is the next technological step to helping humans communicate. 90% of the world's data has been created in the last 2 years. As marketers, we have reached the content crunch. What do we do? There aren't enough hours in the day to help us navigate the massive amount of content we would need to analyse the relevant insights.
This is where Artificial Intelligence comes in here. AI is the new era of human communication.
Alex gives the example of a traffic light. A traffic light with no AI would stay on for 2 minutes, and switch off for 2 minutes. It makes no intelligent decisions and runs on a timer. If there is a pressure pad activated by a car, there is limited input to when the light can change. If we move to machine learning, where the light can use algorithms to predict traffic behaviours, the light can analyse the volume of traffic in a given time and predict its behaviour. Then we have deep learning (a part of machine learning) where the light would begin to model abstract predictions similar to a neural network. Basically, the light is able to (seemingly) make its own decisions. It begins to learn the way a human brain learns. Finally, we have AI, where the traffic light can have empathy, etc.
What is happening now with AI?
Visual Recognition: Brands have now started to think about how they can use visual recognition technology towards marketing. Basically, the machine can see an image, recognize it, and make predictions about it.
For example, Pinterest is training their AI to be able to recognize an image, find the Pin, and then the consumer can go buy it.
Language: We also have language, where the machines can understand the concept of language and use it to make predictions.
One example is Chatbox. Chatbox uses AI to answer basic questions. When they have a more complex question, it gets handed to a person.
Decision Making: Netflix is a great example of decision-making AI. Netflix technology can look at the type of videos you like, your friends like, ect, and make suggestions.
Data Analytics: AI looks at all the data different sites have and use it to make predictions. Sites used to have to be analysed separately, but by putting together numerous websites, AI is able to make more accurate and more specific predictions.
In short, AI cannot be creative, so it is taking care of the tedious things humans don't want to do so we can spend more time on important developments.
How can you use AI in your brand?
1. Look for complex data challenges that can be solved with AI.
2. Be very clear on your desired outcome.
3. Make sure you know who you are working with. You want to be working with a legitimate AI company.
How you can use AI to solve a problem: Applying AI to unlock audience insights from social data.
If you can see what your audience is saying or doing, you can better market to them. It is possible to use AI to analyse how people are engaging with the world. It can tell you what kind of content to produce, before you produce it.
Social Tribes: See your brand through audience's eyes. This term is based around the idea of sub-cultures and how people engage with different content.
Using AI, you can understand the context of a piece of content. For example, an Instagram post. You can analyse the usual things, like where the post was made, who the person is, the hashtags. But AI can also analyse the colour palette of the photo, the background, if they wearing branded clothing, etc.
Now imagine this on a larger scale. People who post gym selfies. People who use the hashtag Nike. You can see similarities of people who make up these different tribes. You can look at these tribes and identify demographics, and similarities in the images. This wouldn't be possible with AI.
Marketers can go out and analyse all the content associated with their brand and branded assets. You can begin to group your content together based on these tribes. You can then look at your audiences, and identify the tribes within your audiences. You now know what content will appeal to these tribes, and how to target them.
Let AI Help You
The key point is that you need to use AI to delve into this huge amount of content, to find these insights, and understand when and where to market content.
By 2020, 50% of companies will be using cognitive computing in their applications. AI is not a question of if, it is a question of when.
For more on StoryStream and to learn more about how AI can help your marketing strategy, click here: http://story-stream.com/
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The Astros vs. the Nationals: Why I Love This Team So Much
ALCS: Astros Rolling Even as Jose Altuve Struggles with A.L.S. It's funny, even if I don't believe the Astros are a winning baseball team, I'll still take a winning team over a "good" team….
ALCS: Astros Rolling Even as Jose Altuve Struggles with A.L.S.
It's funny, even if I don't believe the Astros are a winning baseball team, I'll still take a winning team over a "good" team. And we've seen the Astros turn even a mediocre team into a winning team before, and I'm sure that's what they'll do again this year.
Of course, after getting beat up by the Nationals, they're now in the third season of an ALDS where they will likely win at least one game, but have yet to take a series lead.
So even with the Nationals and the Yankees both having great pitching, the Astros will go out there and come back and beat them. If they do that, it will be one of the best single-game comeback victories of all-time.
It's going to be a big test for the Astros to return from this series with the Nationals without the help of Mike Minor who left Wednesday's game with a sore left hamstring and will likely miss this weekend's game as well.
To make matters worse, it's not a team that can afford to lose a starter like Alex White or Lance McCullers who was supposed to be their closer before he injured his ulna last week.
So even though he was on the roster when they lost to the Nationals, it's going to be a long series for the Astros.
After that loss, the Astros have to figure out if they can find a way to win while holding the Yankees at bay as well.
The Nationals are clearly the better team this year, and it's going to take a big surprise to even make that happen, but right now, the Astros have the home field advantage.
The Astros could give up on the Washington series, but there's no need for that.
What is the biggest difference between the Astros and the Nationals and the reason why I love this team so much?
The second answer is that I have a good feeling about where the Astros end up this year.
And in that case, I'll even take a team that will most likely contend for the playoffs this season, even though they might very well lose to the Yankees in the standings and be swept in a Wild Card game.
I'll still take the Astros over the Nationals. But you know what? I'll take the Astros over the Nationals
Categories asia Tags chemistry, clinical trials, coronavirus, politics
The Gender Gap in Brazil
The Economy Is Slowing, and People Are Working More Part-Time
Anna May Wong to be the first Asian American featured on U.S. currency


The main jolly old elf and his helpers made an appearance at this celebration. The helper elves were called out by name as they brought sweet treats to good girls (and boys). Ornaments added to the festive setting. Loosen those belts and let the season begin!


text:
function [ features ] = computeHOGFeatures( im, cell_size, block_size, nbins )
%COMPUTEHOGFEATURES Computes the histogram of gradients features
% Arguments:
%          im - the image matrix
%          cell_size - each cell will be of size (cell_size, cell_size)
%                       pixels
%          block_size - each block will be of size (block_size, block_size)
%                       cells
%          nbins - number of histogram bins
% Returns:
%          features - the hog features of the image (H_blocks x W_blocks x cell_size*cell_size*nbins)
%
% Generating the HoG features can be done as follows:
height=size(im,1)-2;
width=size(im,2)-2;

[angles, magnitudes] = computeGradient(im);

total_block_size = block_size * cell_size;
features = zeros(floor(height/(total_block_size/2)) - 1, ...
	floor(width/(total_block_size/2)) -1, nbins*block_size*block_size);
%iterate over the blocks, 50% overlap
for w=1:(total_block_size/2):width-total_block_size+1
	for h = 1:(total_block_size/2):height-total_block_size+1
		block_features = [];
		block_magnitude = magnitudes(h:h+total_block_size-1, ...
			w:w+total_block_size-1);
		block_angle = angles(h:h+total_block_size-1, ...
			w:w+total_block_size-1);

		% iterate over the cells
		for i=0:block_size-1
			for j=0:block_size-1
				cell_magnitude = block_magnitude(i*cell_size+1:(i+1)*cell_size, j*cell_size+1:(j+1)*cell_size);
				cell_angle = block_angle(i*cell_size+1:(i+1)*cell_size, ...
					j*cell_size+1:(j+1)*cell_size);

				histograms = zeros(1, nbins);

				% iterate over the pixels
				for p = 1:cell_size
					for q = 1:cell_size
						ang = cell_angle(p,q);
						if ang >= 180
							ang = ang - 180;
						end
						% interpolate the votes
						lower_idx = round(ang / (180/nbins));
						upper_idx = lower_idx + 1;

						lower_ang = (lower_idx-1) * (180/nbins) + 90/nbins;
						upper_ang = (upper_idx-1) * (180/nbins) + 90/nbins;
						if upper_idx > nbins
							upper_idx = 1;
						end
						if lower_idx == 0
							lower_idx = nbins;
						end
						lower_ang = abs(ang - lower_ang);
						upper_ang = abs(ang - upper_ang);
						lower_percent = upper_ang / (lower_ang+upper_ang);
						upper_percent = lower_ang / (lower_ang+upper_ang);
						histograms(lower_idx) = histograms(lower_idx) + lower_percent * cell_magnitude(p,q);
						histograms(upper_idx) = histograms(upper_idx) + upper_percent * cell_magnitude(p,q);
					end
				end
				block_features = [block_features histograms];

			end
		end
		block_features=block_features/sqrt(norm(block_features)^2+.01);
		features(ceil(h/(total_block_size/2)),ceil(w/(total_block_size/2)),:) = block_features;

	end
end

features(isnan(features))=0; %Removing Infinitiy values
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Gee-Gees swim teams crack Top 10 early in season
Zack Goobie
Head coach Dave Heinbuch hopes team builds off early success. Photo: Amitesh Malhotra.
New recruits are the driving force behind strong start, high expectations
Both of the University of Ottawa swim teams have reason to be optimistic through the start of the 2016–17 season.
Last year, the women's and men's teams finished 13th and 9th, respectively, in the national final standings. However, after a strong start, both teams are picking up steam as they both broke into the U Sport Top 10 last week.
For the women's swim team, it's the first time they have cracked the Top 10 in over a year, coming in at the tenth-rank after the recent Ottawa Invitational on Oct. 28.
Head coach Dave Heinbuch is excited to start the year with both teams ranked so high, with the men's team debuting at seventh in the nation.
"It definitely feels great to have both of our teams in the Top 10 at this time of the year," said Heinbuch. "We hope we can build on these rankings going forward."
A number of young swimmers have shown promise for both clubs, and will be expected to be key contributors this season.
First-year swimmer Terry Wang said the team has really gelled early on, and recognized the veterans for helping his adjustment going into his first year.
Heinbuch said the goal is to secure a second-place spot in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference this year.
The Gees' next meet of the year is set to take place on Nov. 19 in Québec City, where they will face off against a strong Université de Laval team, whose male and female teams are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively.
"Our goal going into our meet against Laval is to win. That's our mentality heading into the meet," said first-year swimmer Samuel McPhail.
On Oct. 28, the Gee-Gees achieved a new team record in the men's 4×50-metre event at the Ottawa Invitational in Montpetit Hall, lead by a strong performance from first-year member Trae Parsons.
Heinbuch said strong recruiting has been key to the Gee-Gees' strong start.
"It is nice to get the record. We haven't had great sprinters in the last couple of years, but we recruited well this year."
With their young swimmers leading the way, the teams will look to build on an already impressive start.
The Gee-Gees compete next at Université de Laval on Nov. 19 at 11 a.m.
amitesh malhotraDave HeinbuchGee GeesGee-Gees swimmingMen's and women's swimmingOUATerry WangTrae ParsonsU of OUniversité de LavalUniversity of OttawauottawaZack Goobie
Synchronized swimming at the U of O
Sarah Nolette | Sports Editor
Professor Ivan Stojmenovic killed in car crash
Spencer Van Dyk & Adam Feibel
Catch me at the club: Student Voyagers
Erin Peter
An exploration of Sportation


text:
Tag: abuse in shoujo
On April 11, 2018 March 24, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, Manga2 Comments
Boys Over Flowers vol. 21
Dengeki Daisy vol. 14
A Devil and Her Love Song vol. 13 (conclusion!)
Fairy Cube vol. 1
There's been one kind of curious consistency across the worst of the worst I've looked at – the tendency to declare the abusive boyfriends, "gentle." This never made sense to me – how can you call someone gentle right after he slapped you across the face? "Gentle" is a way of behaving and treating others, not some innate quality. It is the antonym of "rough", which is how one would describe a man who shouts and hits. After seeing it come up again and again, I figured it must be a quirk of translation. Sometimes a particular way of translating a word or phrase becomes standard practice, even if it doesn't totally make sense in English.
Continue reading "Abusive Relationships in Shoujo Manga by the Numbers: Week 23" →
On March 21, 2018 March 21, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, Manga4 Comments
A Devil and Her Love Song vol. 11
The Earl and the Fairy vol. 3
Flower in a Storm vol. 2
Where's the josei?
It's time to answer yet another question absolutely nobody has asked!
As I go through the Shojo Beat catalog (which has many good titles I'm looking forward to reading), there's been a few that I've skipped even though they are available. I chose not to cover series like Crown of Love and Everyone's Getting Married, nor will I be reading Nana or Honey and Clover. These are all great series that I enjoy, but they're josei rather than shoujo, i.e. series aimed at an adult female audience rather than a teenage audience.
On March 14, 2018 February 26, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, Manga1 Comment
Spring 2017 Shoujo
As I said last week, this coming season brings an unprecedented eleven shows clearly and explicitly aimed at a female audience, not counting shows that could go either way or appear to be aimed at a general audience. I've been eyeing the databases, looking over what shows I'm anticipating most. I don't have the best track record for keeping up with current anime – I still have one episode each of Sakura Quest and Code: Realize to watch – but I'm still eager and excited to see female viewership being explicitly marketed to. What are these shows?
Abusive Relationships in Shoujo Manga by the Numbers Week 19
On March 7, 2018 March 3, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, MangaLeave a comment
A Devil and Her Love Song vol. 9
The spring anime season fast approaches and with it comes an avalanche of female-oriented new series. Looking at the spring chart, I counted no fewer than 11 series unambiguously aimed at women and girls, which is unprecedented for as long as I can remember. Not all of them appeal to me, and some of them will probably even be bad. But in a landscape where we get this much variety, it doesn't feel like just one or two series have to represent your entire marketing demographic on their own. It's okay for some of them to be bad, because you can easily find something else that appeals to you more.
Continue reading "Abusive Relationships in Shoujo Manga by the Numbers Week 19" →
On February 28, 2018 February 17, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, Manga7 Comments
Black Bird vol. 18 (conclusion!)
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 13 (conclusion!)
The Demon Prince of Momochi House vol. 10
Dengeki Daisy vol. 9
So… much… data…
I'll keep this short, because this installment is already long enough.
Two series finish this week, one that I'll miss and one that I definitely won't. In the past, when series wrapped up, I just posted the total points for wrap-up. But I've been taking much more granular data than that, counting up how many instances of different forms of abuse occur. And this week, as I finished up Black Bird, a series that has been a thorn in my side since the very start, I thought, "What's the point of that granularity if I don't actually do anything with it?"
Black Bird vol. 17
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 12
The Demon Prince of Momochi House vol. 9
Prestige Shoujo
Have y'all checked out Children of the Whales yet? Netflix is still holding the anime hostage, but the first volume of the manga is out in English. It's good, solid fantasy that builds up a world I'm interested in exploring more, with an interesting magic system and plenty of mystery. The character writing is a little stiff, but the intrigue more than makes up for it.
It's also the first shoujo series to be published under the Viz Signature line. For the uninitiated, Viz has a few imprints: Shojo Beat for their shoujo titles; Shonen Jump for, well, Shonen Jump; Viz Select for smaller digital releases; and Viz Signature, which they define as "Bringing classic and cutting-edge graphic novels to an audience of discerning readers hungry for sophisticated stories and superlative art." This is great, except the line reminds me more of the tastes of old-school comic book guys that blocked shoujo out of the US manga scene for much of the 80's and 90's. Yes, it does have some complex, challenging series, such as the various works of Naoki Urasawa and Inio Asano. But, other than a couple of Fumi Yoshinaga works and Children of the Whales, it's almost universally seinen.
On January 31, 2018 January 31, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, List, Manga2 Comments
There's no one way to read a story
Last week, Anime Feminist had an interview about mental illness in Japan and anime with a former Aokigahara volunteer go up. It's a really lovely interview and a great read – I highly recommend it if you haven't checked it out yet. Makoto Kageyama speaks touchingly about their own mental health struggles in the context of how such things are regarded in Japanese culture. Their discussion of how anime and manga treat depression and anxiety like things that can be cured through the power of friendship contextualizes quite a few series. Continue reading "Abusive Relationships in Shoujo Manga by the Numbers: Week 16" →
On January 24, 2018 January 20, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, List, MangaLeave a comment
I just finished rereading Fruits Basket, one of my favorite series from when I was in high school. It's a flawed work, but overall it holds up really well for when it came out and for a mangaka's first major title. The story is explicitly about abuse, portrayed both literally and through metaphor, and it handles the subject better than most fiction. Most of the characters are victims of abuse, and the story admirably portrays how they're unable to connect to others healthily. The series ran over 20 volumes, and it's not until close to the very end that the main couple are ready to connect romantically. That got me thinking – for the highest-scoring series I've covered, what is at the root of their trauma?
Abuse in Shoujo by the Numbers: Week 14
On January 10, 2018 January 7, 2018 By CaitlinIn Analysis, MangaLeave a comment
Last Week:
Dawn of the Arcana vol. 9
Sho is finally making a direct move against Kyo, and the battle between them is a close match. Will Sho's recent feast on Misao's blood give him the power to overcome Kyo? Or does Sho hope being killed in front of her will add to the pain of betrayal Misao already feels? (summary by Viz)
The Sho arc of Black Bird draws to a close and Misao returns home. Kyo apparently hypnotized her parents into thinking she was only gone for a night, when really he had spirited away their daughter for months. This strikes me as remarkably scuzzy, and I don't think it was every explained previously exactly what he was doing and how he was isolating her. She also has been out of school all that time and is terribly behind on her schoolwork, so of course Kyo — ahem, Mr. Usui — has to tutor her. None of her friends seem particularly concerned about her months-long disappearance either. "Isolating from family and friends" is a major sign of potential abuse and, though Misao chose to go with Kyo voluntarily, she was effectively cut off from everyone outside Kyo's tengu clan, with no one to support her if things went sour.
Continue reading "Abuse in Shoujo by the Numbers: Week 14" →
On December 2, 2017 By CaitlinIn Analysis, List, Manga1 Comment
Demon Love Spell vol. 6
Although shoujo has been around in Japan about as long as manga in its current form has, it took a long time to find an audience in the US.
Actually, no. Scratch that. The audience was always here. It took a long time to for it to become accessible to its audience here.
A long, long time ago, in the strange era knowns as the "80s and 90s", manga was first starting to come to the US, but it was a far cry from what we know today. The industry was controlled by comic books guys and intended to appeal to other comic book guys, so most of what came over was what was already in their wheelhouse: seinen and shonen. And while they imported many classics in that time, such as Maison Ikkoku, Akira, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, attitudes toward shoujo ranged from "inconsequential fluff" to "unmarketable." It wasn't until the late 90's, when Sailor Moon became a modest success, that companies started considering teenage girls a viable audience. And when Tokyopop, for all the things they did wrong, embraced that audience, they ushered in a manga boom that would change the face of the US manga industry forever. Continue reading "Abusive Relationships in Shoujo Manga by the Numbers: Week 12" →
Baku-"Man smart, woman dumb"


Today's Flashback Friday post is a great project for the summer. Now, keep in mind this project looks better now (not nearly as sloppy) since I have used a nice big pretty planter I got for free. I also cut a piece of a wood in a circle and painted it pretty so it now functions as a nice end table and umbrella stand.


text:
Posts Tagged 'due process'
Treatment of accusations
The recent accusations* of sexual assault against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and especially the situation around them, is highly troubling.
*Disclaimer concerning the specific accusations: I make no claim about whether the accusations are true or false. (But admit to finding them fishy. Cf. some of the below.) The main point is not whether Kavanaugh, specifically, is guilty or innocent of something, but how various scenarios should be handled in general, including accusations that lack proof, accusations that are raised belatedly, actual events that took place a long time ago, etc.
Again, a mere allegation is used to discredit someone, potentially ruining both a career and a reputation. Worse, now the democratic processes are threatened: If Kavanaugh's nomination is defeated, then what is next? There are many political fanatics who justify even thoroughly anti-democratic means through their holy end—and if they see that, for instance, Kavanaugh was kicked out based on mere allegations (even truthful allegations), the risk that some of them will raise false allegations against others increases severely.* A justice with the "wrong" opinions is nominated? The "wrong" candidate is leading in the polls? That professor is a registered Republican? Now there is a remedy!
*And, no, in light of many actual, anti-democratic events documented on sites like Minding the Campus, or the very high rate of false accusations in other areas (I have briefly discussed the subject in e.g. [1] and [2]), this is not a hypothetical to just be shrugged off—the risk is very, very real. To boot, albeit with a smaller likelihood, there are at least some cases where such accusations could be used as an extended filibuster, e.g. to block the appointment of anyone to the Supreme Court nominated by the "wrong" President. (The attempts, then by the Republicans, to eliminate Obama by questioning his country of birth is another indication of a faulty attitude.)
In order to reduce such risks, I would suggest the implementation of some or all of the following rules:
An unproved* accusation is void for the purpose of appointments, hiring, firing, … It must** be ignored in the decision-making*** process. Failure to do so amounts to illegal discrimination and considered e.g., in the case of a firing, wrongful dismissal. (This is a special case of the presumption of innocence.)
*Exactly what level of proof is needed might require further discussion. A formal criminal conviction is certainly enough, but there might be instances where a finding in a civil suit, considerable evidence never presented in court, or e.g. personal knowledge might also suffice. (For an example of the latter, consider a decision maker who personally witnessed a certain event—but not a decision maker who merely is convinced that the accuser is truthful.)
**Such a ban is doomed to fail when it comes to e.g. voter opinion, but should work reasonably in cases like Kavanaugh's and very well when it comes to e.g. firings with no other credible support. Similarly, that a judge instructs a jury to ignore a certain statement will not erase the statement from the minds of the jurors—but it is the best he can do. (Assuming that the instruction was justified.)
***However, it might legitimately lead to an investigation. Such an investigation can, obviously, provide proof, after which the situation changes. Even so, such investigations should normally be left to the proper authorities, and e.g. the type of kangaroo court used by some U.S. colleges is not defensible.
No accusation is to be considered that was not raised in a sufficiently timely manner. For instance, if Christine Blasey Ford (Kavanaugh's main accuser) had gone to the police within some reasonable* time after the alleged event, pointing to that accusation today would be a legitimate move on her behalf—but she waited some 36 (!) years before going public.
*What a reasonable time is, needs further discussion. In the current case, days would have been best, but weeks might have been tolerated if the experience was traumatic or other circumstances made "days" unconscionable. Even months, however, would be very hard to justify. If nothing else, we have to consider the risk of false accusations and the reduced ability of the innocently accused to provide e.g. alibis as time goes by—the rights of the accused are just as important as those of the accuser. A timely report to the police is, obviously, also in the interest of a (truthful) accuser, so that evidence can be gathered in time.
In addition to arguments in favor of statutes of limitation in general (cf. below), we also have to consider that when an accusation is raised so long after (even a real) event, the memory of the accuser might be too faulty to be trusted. Did the events really take place that way or have they been exaggerated after mulling over them a few dozen times? Were the intents involved interpreted correctly?* Was it really the accused or might it have been his brother? Etc.
*For instance: Looking at the specific alleged Ford–Kavanaugh situation, Ford seems to frame it as a rape attempt. However, from what is written on Wikipedia, it is not clear that the intentions went beyond molestation (even assuming that the event took place). Such intents even seem unlikely, with two older boys interacting with a girl of fifteen in situation controlled by them. Had this been an actual rape attempt, her chances would not have been great. (Wikipedia on the nomination: "According to Ford, Kavanaugh pinned her to the bed, groped her, ground against her, and tried to pull off her clothes and covered her mouth when she tried to scream." The one thing potentially pointing to specifically rape is the clothes, but here too much room for interpretation is present, including whether her pants were involved—and what about his pants? To speak of "sexual assault" is justified, but "attempted rape" is, unless vital information has been left out, speculation.)
Reasoning that e.g. the "risk" of a high appointment for an unsuitable candidate might justify coming out even after a long time, is flawed, as per several below points and the fact that there are plenty of innocents that might need protection in the life-path of almost everyone—not just of holders of high offices. If someone sees a need to act when a high office is involved, then she willfully exposed smaller groups of people in the past. In the specific case of Ford and Kavanaugh, we also have to consider that this is not his first high office. Why did she not speak up e.g. when he was appointed to the circuit court?*
*The obvious speculation is that we now have a situation where an accusation, be it truthful or false, has a greater political impact, and a "Republican" Supreme Court can at least be delayed—that it is a matter of mere political expediency, by a Democrat with some history of political activism. (Cf. Wikipedia on Ford.) However, I stress that my knowledge of Ford's character, history, whatnot, are far too limited to consider this more than speculation.
The relevance of an alleged act/event/whatnot to suitability for a certain position must be considered. In many previous incidents, mostly relating to issues like being non-PC (e.g. [3], [4]), no such relevance has been obvious or even remotely proved. With sexual assault and movie producer, a case for relevance is obvious, because the position gives opportunity for further events, and an effect e.g. on what-young-actress-is-hired-why is plausible. With Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court, the case is far weaker: Not only is there no reason to assume that he would have more opportunity on the Supreme Court than in his current position (if at all*), but he does not have an adult record of such behavior—the alleged incidents that have come to my attention have been in the early 1980s, when Kavanaugh was still a teenager.
*I am not aware of what opportunities, obstacles, whatnot, might be present, but the rest of the Supreme Court is bound to be safe. There might be some possibilities among assistants and similar, but nothing comparable to the opportunities of a movie producer.
A possibly relevant angle is that of moral integrity: Someone with a known behavior of questionable ethics, morals, whatnot might be disputable, even when no questions of ability and performance are present. For instance, a top-notch accountant with an embezzlement conviction is not an ideal candidate for treasurer of even the local PTA. Similarly, with high offices, we want people who are likely to not e.g. confuse private and public funds, make favorable decisions in exchange for bribes, change regulations in a manner that benefits them personally (for the sake of that benefit), … While I would tend to err on the side of caution in this area, sexual misbehavior is lesser indication than e.g. financial misbehavior when it comes to public office. (Excepting the vulnerability to extortion; however, here we have a Catch-22: Either the misbehavior is known and not useful for extortion, or it is not known and therefore not a possible criterion.) Further, the judicial branch is likely less susceptible than the executive branch.
Even when accusations were raised in a timely manner, some type of "statute of limitations"* must be present:
*An older post has some discussion of criminal statutes of limitation.
Firstly, if an accusation is "escalated"*, or even repeated, after too long a time, the accused is put at a severe disadvantage, because his opportunities to defend himself are worsened. For instance, he might have had a witness that has since forgotten too much, moved, or even died; unknown witnesses that might have come forward after two weeks might not even realize that they are relevant when the event took place two or twenty years earlier; he might have had phone records that are now long gone; he might himself be too uncertain about the details to give a plausible statement; etc. (This is even worse when no prior accusation had taken place, and the innocently accused might not even know what he was doing at what time all those years ago. A prior accusation at least increases the chance that some memories are present and that some preparations were taken.)
*E.g. in that an accusation is raised in a social circle today and brought to the police two years later, or that the police originally dismissed a charge without deeper investigation and the accusation is repeated in a public forum decades later.
Secondly, the individual changes over time.* He matures, develops a better feel for what is and is not acceptable, gains greater insights into ethics, becomes better at withstanding peer-pressure, sorts out emotional problems, … In the case of a teenage boy, even the physiological maturation of the brain is not yet complete. When enough time has passed, judging someone over past events is not that much different from judging him over something someone else did. When it comes to extremes such as whether a Presidential candidate, once long ago, actually inhaled marijuana or just smoked it, something is seriously wrong.
*Here I can give myself as a case in point: While I have never done anything like what Kavanaugh is accused of, I was quite "handsy" in my early teens. Not only have I stopped such behaviors as I grew up, but I cannot even, today, understand what motivated me. My best speculation is that it was more "attention getting" than something truly sexual, combined with a yet undeveloped understanding of issues like personal borders (in turn caused by some mixture of youth, family problems, and "spectrum" issues).
Thirdly, society and what is considered acceptable also changes over time. If we take an old man and go back to what he did sixty years ago, we might find things considered perfectly normal back then—but condemned whole-sale today. Consider, as extreme examples, the horrifyingly flawed concept of microaggressions or stories of how even asking someone out has been considered sexual harassment. Or consider objections against various pre-abolition U.S. Presidents because they, perfectly normally at the time, owned slaves. Or consider how prostitution was relatively recently legal in Sweden, is now forbidden, and how it can be assumed that any politician caught out having visited a prostitute when it was legal will be severely condemned post-facto. If older events are to be considered at all, they must be considered in the light of the norms at the time they took place.
As a special case of the above, there might also be some need to consider more "local" norms, e.g. those of a sub- or youth-culture. While such norms should be called upon only with caution, they can often shine a different light on something or make it less severe, especially when all the involved parties belong to the same group, follow the same norms, and have the same expectations.
Excursion on statutes of limitation and the changing individual:
One way to handle this complication would be to say that we are only ever culpable for what we did in the previous third* of our lives. What happened before is beyond the reach of the law, societal condemnation, the ire of a spouse, the complaints of a parent, … A human aged six is only responsible for what he did in the last two years, aged fifteen only for the last five, aged sixty only the last twenty, etc.
*The exact fraction and the exact modalities are open to discussion.
Such a system simultaneously reasonably protects from the sins of our prior selves, ensures a reasonable remainder of culpability, and takes the different rate of change as we age into consideration. There might, however, be some complications to iron out. Consider e.g. someone who commits a crime at twenty and is incarcerated with a multi-year sentence at twenty-nine: Should he be let out when thirty? This would be consistent with the idea, but might lead to problems like some perpetrators not being prosecuted due to pointlessness, effectively shortening the statutes-of-limitation phase below the intent. (A possible compromise might be to set some lower limits or proportions for sentences that are exceptional to the overall system.)
Excursion on the Clintons:
Some of the accusations against Bill might be open to similar arguments, although the shorter time-frame must be considered. The Lewinsky affair* might even be something best considered a private issue between her and the Clintons. Others against Bill and all (?) against Hillary are not or only weakly affected, e.g. because of more-or-less immediate action, delays caused by lack of knowledge, the use of formal investigations instead of public-opinion courts, and the greater relevance to the job.
*Per se: Any ensuing cover-ups and later manipulations are a different matter. (My memory is much too vague to make a definite statement.)
Tagged with accusations, Brett Kavanaugh, due process, presumption of innocence, SCOTUS
I have just watched the first season* of "American Vandal"—another proof that it is possible to do something original and worth watching even today, and that there is no need to just dust of every old franchise**, hoping that the "brand value" outweighs the lack of quality and originality.
*Whether this terminology reflects reality remains to be seen. From the closed character, I suspect that the series will remain at one season, and considering its shortness, it might be better labeled as a "mini-series".
**Something I have spoken negatively of in the past, e.g. in [1].
It is not the best made series ever—not even close. However, it does bring something new to the table, and it does so while giving food for thought. This most notably in the area of due process, but also concerning privacy, the benefits and dangers of social media, press ethics, and organizations sweeping their problems under the rug—all areas where I have considerable concerns about current developments. (Cf. a number of older posts.) Some of these areas are discussed below.
!!!Here be spoilers!!!
A particular disturbing part, obviously, is how one character, Dylan, was originally expelled from school based on scant* evidence, by an entity that served as judge, jury, and prosecutor in one, and how his "conviction" was almost a foregone conclusion based on his previous behavior**. While this example is fictional, it does reflect common practices in the U.S., where there, for instance, have been cases of colleges expelling people under similar circumstances, often in word-against-word situations, using "preponderance of evidence" (or another too weak standard). Considering the effects of a college*** expulsion and the damage than can accrue through e.g. social media and reputation damage in today's world, the consequences are potentially horrifying—often far worse than the alleged crime or even "crime". When it comes to actual crimes****, it is vital that proceedings follow a level of due process, rights of the accused, whatnot, that is comparable to that of a real criminal trial—better yet, leave this to the actual justice system, and then make decisions, e.g. regarding expulsions, based on what the results of the justice system were. Even when no crime is present (e.g. with a pure behavioral matter), it is vital that the (real or virtual) roles of judge, jury, and prosecutor are sufficiently separated from each other, and that the "accused" is given sufficient opportunity to defend himself.
*The only evidence against him that was not, at best, circumstantial was a testimony by a witness, which was offset by conflicting testimony by an alibi giver. Neither witness had any obviously superior credibility.
**Dylan was a highly problematic student, and I do not rule out that his past behavior might have been enough for an expulsion. However, he was, as eventually transpired, innocent of the vandalism for which he actually was expelled.
***However, note that the series deals with a high-school expulsion. This is bad enough, but less disastrous both because there are more opportunities to gain back ground and (usually far, far) less money invested at the particular school. To boot, people who are expelled from high-school are rarely among those likely to do well in college, implying that the career effect is considerably smaller: We are still typically talking unemployment and/or low-wage, dead-end jobs, considering the low value of a modern high-school diploma.
****As was the case here, specifically the spray painting of 27 cars with stylized penises.
A somewhat tricky question in the series is that of false accusations—paralleling the considerable problems in the real world with especially, rape, child-abuse, and domestic-violence accusations: While Dylan was originally expelled and facing (real) criminal and/or civil charges*, the "witness for the prosecution"**, who seemed*** to have lied outright, did not face such repercussions—his sole fear being a beating from Dylan. It is possible that any attempt at action against him would eventually have failed due to problems of proving intent; however, it appears that an attempt was not even made. Similarly, in the real world, women who make false rape accusations are often let go with a slap on the wrist, while their victims could have faced many years in jail—and often see their lives ruined even when acquitted. Under such circumstances, there is a severe risk that the system is abused e.g. to maliciously hurt personal enemies who have not committed a crime.
*He was proved innocent by video evidence before the real trial in the real justice system started.
**Whether he should be considered the accuser or just a witness can be disputed, but from the details of the show, the difference is likely uninteresting for the current discussion. (However, in most other cases, witness and accuser are quite different things.)
***At least for some time: A later hypothesis involved a suspect with some similarity in looks, and assuming, as was claimed, that the perpetrator wore a hood, an honest mistake is conceivable. However, this hypothesis only arose some time after the "acquittal", was not necessarily presented to the school, and certainly remained a hypothesis. To boot, the witness had originally spoken with considerable certainty. (I do not recall the exact formulations used, but it was on the level of "I saw Dylan do it"—not e.g. "I saw who did it; he looked like Dylan".
As a counter-point, we have the question of witness pressure: The "witness for the prosecution" later spoke of having been under a lot of pressure to say the right things. If that was the case, and if he modified his statements to comply with the pressure, someone of his age should be seen in a more forgiving light. However, we then have to condemn the proceedings even more: Witnesses are unreliable enough as it is and when they additionally face pressure to give the "right" answers, testimony is worth very little. It is vital that witnesses are induced to say what they actually remember—not directly or indirectly moved to say what the prosecution wants to hear. Here we again see the importance of dividing the roles of the "court" appropriately, so that the prosecution is neither judge nor jury. Further, where there is a prosecutor to exert pressure on witnesses, there must be a defender to press back. In this specific case, we had the additional complication that the witness was another student, and therefore in a dependent role visa vi the school staff making the decisions, implying that thoughts like "I must keep Mrs. X happy, or she might give me a poor grade!" could have crossed his mind. Such problems could have been alleviated by hiring external specialists to handle the investigation and decision. Consider as comparison a real trial where a witness is employed as a house-keeper by the DA handling the case…
The problem of organizations sweeping their problems under the rug, has probably not featured in my previous writings to any notable degree. A few words on the topic*: There are many types of problems that can arise when there is too little distance, objectivity, self-criticism, whatnot, present in how an organization deals with complaints and internal problems. The most obvious is that it might be so keen on preserving its imagine towards the outside world that it deliberately does not address problems in the appropriate manner. However, we also have to consider constellations like a superior receiving a complaint about an employee with whom he has developed a friendship, an investigative board containing people with personal ties, a biased treatment due to the feeling that that the target of a complaint is "one of us" and the complainer is "one of them", the target of the complaint being able to influence the proceedings through inside connections (e.g. through giving someone false verbal information that the complainer never even knows of, let alone has an opportunity to refute), etc.
*Since I am filling a deficit, I will remain mostly abstract. If we look at events in the series, I can point to e.g. the illegal failure to upload certain complaint acts to a public server, an attempt to shut-down an independent investigation/documentary, when it threatened to put the school and/or some staff members in a poor light, suspensions (detentions?) being handed out for potentially (depending on interpretation) having critized the principal, …
A particular disastrous example from my personal experiences, where problems were almost guaranteed and remedies highly unlikely due to a massive conflict of interest: Being faced with a blatant breach of contract, I simultaneously sent a bill to the perpetrator and contacted its trade association with a complaint and a request for intervention. In a horribly misguided system, this trade association on the one hand provided arbitration, certifications of quality, and similar, on the other legal service to its members. The result was that the perpetrator took the bill, sent it to the legal branch of the trade association, which immediately gave the opinion that the bill was void and all related claims baseless*—and thereby tied the hands of the rest of the organization with regard to my complaint and any chance of intervention—if another branch had given support to my complaint, it could have caused severe credibility problems for the legal branch, had I taken legal action to receive payment.
*Beware that such "opinions", by their very nature, have no actual legal value, give little information on the true estimation of the involved lawyers, and cannot, seeing that the lawyers at this juncture only know a fraction of the information, be a complete legal evaluation. To act in his client's best interest, a lawyer will have to officially side with said client in a near blanket manner, even when the facts at hand, relevant law, and his actual opinion would go in the other direction. There are cases where the situation is so clear, that he is forced to chose another first official stance than a (real or metaphorical) "not guilty"; however, this is rare. The result is that irrespective of how well or poorly founded the complaining party's claims are, the legal branch would have started with a blanket rejection, and the hands of the trade association would be tied. The complaining party is, almost by necessity, wasting time by approaching such a trade association.
Correspondingly, any organization who wants its complaint management to be taken seriously, must take steps to minimize such problems (a complete prevention is likely not possible). This could include e.g. making sure that there is a special complaints branch, that supervisors/investigators/whatnot with too strong ties to the target of the complaint recuse themselves, that external helpers are brought in (especially when larger amounts of money are concerned, the heads of the organization are involved, or the matter is otherwise unusually important), … While the presumption of innocence must be preserved in terms of treatment and consequences, the potential guilt must also be kept very clearly in mind during any investigation.
(A more specialized post on the misbehavior of German governmental institutions and their blanket rejection of any type of criticism might follow, especially with an eye on the IRS, the incompetence of which is currently again costing me a load of time. It appears to be a universal law that the more incompetent an organization is, the less willing it is to accept criticism.)
A few words on the final scenes of the series:
After his acquittal, Dylan goes through a brief high and then faces repeated disappointments, including that a very hostile* teacher, who had pushed heavily against him, and even (very incorrectly) attributed the crime as directed mainly against her, personally, failed to give the type of apology that he had pictured. He now misguidedly does commit an act of vandalism against her, by painting a penis on her drive-way.
*Her hostility is not unreasonable, considering their previous history.
It follows a brief sequence on how the expectations of others, the roles we have been pushed into, and similar, can lead to poor decisions, even deliberate attempts to fulfill negative expectations—Dylan thought that others saw him as a villain and correspondingly behaved like a villain. While this is likely only partially true, there are at least two thought-worthy aspects to this issue. Firstly, that we should be careful with our expectations of others and the effects they can, at least sometimes, have. Secondly, that we should beware of potential influence from others through expectations, that we should deliberately counter such expectations (at least when negative), and that we ultimately must take responsibility for our own actions, even if they arose under such influence.
In a disturbing parallel to a recently discussed real case, it is claimed that the police brought him away in handcuffs in the middle of the night, over something as trivial* as a this. Now, I do not know whether this could have happened in the real world; however, I re-iterate how important it is that law enforcement act in proportion to the crime. Not only could this easily have waited until the following morning, it might even have been prudent to just ask him to come to the station at a given time. While I do not agree with the practice of some law enforcements** of letting all crimes below a certain level just slide, this is one case where the main issue might even be considered a civil matter between the two: He pays damages, apologizes, promises to never do it again, and we call it a day.
*To be contrasted with the original vandalism, were a figure of a hundred thousand dollars of damages was mentioned. In the act he actually committed, the cost of cleaning or repairing the drive-way is unlikely to exceed a few hundred dollars, possibly being far smaller.
**Including, in my impression, the German police.
Tagged with civil rights, complaint management, due process, justice, TV


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