I'm probably breaking Cardinal Rule #1 for reviewers or something here, but I'm going to start with the summary: very good, perhaps even great, but not perfect. Nothing's perfect, of course, so that's OK. If ever a book or series deserved a perfect screen adaptation, it was this one. On the other hand, it's quite possible that no book of equal stature or popularity has ever been so fiendishly difficult to adapt to the screen. The Lord of the Rings (LotR from now on) is written on such a grand scale, and at the same time with such attention to minute detail, that "errors" in translation to screen form are inevitable. There are nits to be picked. The real question, though, is whether the movie stays true to the spirit of the books. Does it present the first-time movie viewer with the same basic experience that a first-time reader of the book would get, within the limitations of being a different medium? Despite everything I'm about to say, I'd say the answer to these questions is a resounding yes. The movie is, in the end, as captivating as the book was when I was a child.
I'm not sure if I believe there can be such a thing as a "spoiler" in the context of a movie based on such a well-known literary work, but I will be (eventually) talking in some detail about things that are unique to the movie version. The next section will contain minor spoilers about acting, scenery, and such. The third section will be the most dangerous in terms of giving everything away, as I discuss differences in plot between the book and the movie. You have been warned, and it's up to you to stop reading when you get to a point that exceeds your comfort level.
The movie is gorgeously presented. The scenery, the buildings, the costumes...all have obviously been chosen and/or constructed with great care. The Shire looks like I expected the Shire to look. Hobbits look pretty much like I expected hobbits to look. Weathertop doesn't look quite like I expected it to look, but Peter Jackson's vision of how it should look might well be truer than my own. Ditto for Rivendell. No problems there. New Zealand was the perfect place to film this movie, because it embodies in a small space all the different kinds of terrain that are needed. The use of computer graphics to fill in where even the terrain does not suffice is flawless. Not once did I find myself distracted from the story by wondering - or knowing - that some piece or other of what I was seeing was not "real" but computer-generated.
While the settings were well-nigh perfect, there is room to find fault with the portrayals of people. I'll get to acting later and deal just with the visuals for now. The orcs seemed a little too grotesque. On the other end of the spectrum, the elves seemed wrong. The ears were just a little too pointy, the hair just a little too long and consistently blond for me. Maybe these visual cues are necessary, to distinguish elves from humans clearly, but I felt they were overdone. Elrond in particular bugged me. I don't mean to knock Hugo Weaving's acting of the part, which was fine, but he lacked a certain gravitas necessary to the role - a deeper voice, perhaps, or a gruffer, more muscular appearance, were called for. The Elrond of the books was, after all, half elven, and the Elrond of the movie seems all elf. It was hard to imagine this Elrond having the authority and strength to bring these people of varying races and factions to the council table, or to be the force behind Rivendell as one of this world's strongest bulwarks against the evil might of Sauron.
This brings us to the acting. Overall, the actors do an excellent job. The hobbits are perhaps given a little too much of a child-like portrayal, and Pippin's accent might be a little overdone, but that's all OK and good for relief from the relentless seriousness of the plot. Ian McKellen is a truly excellent Gandalf. If I were giving out Oscars for Best Supporting Actor he'd be an easy pick...if it weren't for Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. While Gandalf has become the standard wizard on which so many others have been based, and it's OK to play him as those others have been played, Aragorn is a more ambiguous character. I've always thought it would be an extremely difficult role, but Mortensen meets the challenge. His use of voice, expression and body language to convey Aragorn's combination of rough woodsman and high-born noble is nothing short of amazing.
Possibly the only disappointments in the acting department are Sean Bean as Boromir and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel. No, I'm not going to complain about Liv Tyler's Arwen. What's wrong with that character is the director's or script writer's fault, and has been discussed at sufficient length elsewhere; Tyler does a thoroughly acceptable job with the role she's given. Bean's Boromir, however, lacks the chest-thumping manliness of the book's version, alternating instead between a flat sullenness and acting-school angst in his "what have I done" moment at Amon Hen. Blanchett's Galadriel is simply too much of a "Lady of the Lake" stereotype more suited to Arthurian legend than Tolkien. Partly it's not her fault, though. Her role and lines are significantly truncated and changed from what's in the book, and the cheap effects - especially during the sequence where she's tempted to take the ring - can't have helped either. All of these things surely made her job much more difficult than it really needed to be, but nonetheless I felt that an actress of her talents should have been able to make more of the situation.
Neither Bean nor Blanchett were truly awful, though, and neither is a truly major character anyway (neither will be seen any more), so these two sub-par performances really don't hurt the movie in any significant way. The other actors' performances, ranging from solid to stellar, more than make up for any lapses.
The movie mostly stays very true to the plot of the book. The sequence from Hobbiton to Bree to Weathertop to Rivendell to Caradhras to Moria to Lorien to Parth Galen is preserved. The omission of Old Man Willow, Tom Bombadil, and the Barrow Downs was probably a good idea and mostly well done; I found the "teleportation" from Buckland to Bree a little jarring, but I doubt that would pose a problem for most people. The manner in which Frodo's identity was revealed in Bree, and the manner in which he came to use the Ring, were not quite true to the book but worked well enough. The direct treatment of Gandalf's trouble at Isengard actually worked better than having him tell the story to Elrond's council as in the book; abbreviating most of that council was also an improvement over the book. As I said before, the replacement of Glorfindel with Arwen at the Fords of Rivendell has been much discussed elsewhere, so I'll limit myself to one comment: this scene is important in the development of Frodo's character, as one of the places where he first shows open defiance rather than fear of the Dark Lord's minions, and for that reason alone I regret the change. Neither Glorfindel nor Arwen is important enough in either the book or the movie to care otherwise.
The first two plot quibbles have to do with Gollum and Saruman. Both are introduced prematurely, relative to where they appear in the book. In the volume corresponding to the movie, Gollum appears only as a barely-audible set of extra footsteps in Moria, and as a possibly-illusory pair of eyes on a log between Lorien and Parth Galen. In the movie, his presence is explicit and remarked upon in the first case, and inexplicably omitted in the second. This really doesn't affect the plot much, and I can completely understand the filmmakers' desire to "bring forward" such an interesting character, but the purist in me still objects slightly. The portrayal of Saruman is slightly more problematic. In the book, he's a slightly ambiguous character, corrupted by Sauron but subtly so and to an uncertain degree. In the movie, he's portrayed as a thoroughly black-souled character, openly allied with Sauron and not the least bit subtle about anything. Worse, his ability in the movie to control weather at Caradhras and thus affect the progress of the Fellowship is beyond anything hinted at in the book. This is troubling because uncertainty about the depth or nature of Saruman's betrayal is a critical part of Gandalf's and Aragorn's decision-making, and portraying Saruman as such a pure and obvious bad guy puts those decisions in a very different light.
The Watcher in the Water is never seen in its entirety, only as tentacles.
It is Gandalf, not Frodo, who figures out the password.
The doorway is blocked by the Watcher slamming the door and piling stuff against it from outside, not by a rockfall inside.
The fate of Balin and his company is at first uncertain, not immediately revealed by piles of dwarven bones inside the door.
Pippin drops a rock down the well, not a skeleton, and not in Balin's chamber.
When Pippin does drop the rock down the well, what is heard is quiet tapping, not drums (those come later).
Orcs cannot climb walls like flies, and never surround the party as they flee Balin's chamber.
There is no scene that involves jumping over a break in a bridge or stairway, let alone "surfing" one part onto the remainder as it crumbles.
To be fair, some of these changes are justifiable. The fight with the Watcher is quite good, as is the "Indiana Jones" scene on the stairway - complete with humorous commentary from (of all people) Gimli. The brooding, lurking danger of the book's Moria might not be as appealing or as easy to portray on film as the more visible and immediate danger of the movie's interpretation. The changes don't even affect the plot much, really, but they do change the world in which the story occurs; the movie's Moria strikes me as a very different place than the book's Moria was, and in my opinion a much less interesting one.
I've spent more time, particularly in the last section, describing what's "wrong" with the movie rather than what's "right" with it. That's a shame, because there really is a lot that's good about the movie. For the most part, it's easy to forget you're watching a movie, and to believe for the moment that you're actually living in Middle Earth, but it's very hard to describe the tiny things - visual touches, sounds, gestures - that contribute to such immersion. Seamlessness is a good thing in a movie, but doesn't leave much to comment on; this film's few flaws are notable because they are exceptions. Despite a few instances of uninspired acting, a few places where special effects are overused or plot elements were tweaked a little overzealously, the movie overall does a truly excellent job of bringing Tolkien's original grand vision to the big screen. That's no small feat. In fact it's an amazing feat. Peter Jackson and his team have done extremely well at a difficult task, and deserve congratulations for exceeding even this demanding fan's expectations.


Wishing everyone a blessed #GoodFriday and #Passover.
(2/3) There, the suspect fires 3 rounds at the police officer, striking him in the right arm. The wounded officer fires back once. At the same time, the officer's partner drives his unmarked police car into the parking lot and exits the vehicle.


Yesterday must have been one of the most beautiful first days of Spring ever.
Once my St. Patrick's decor was put away, I quickly added my early Spring/Easter decor to the front facade.
Again this year, the two wooden carrot cut-outs by Show Me the Door add seasonal spirit to each door.
The central oyster wreath dons a new Spring green and white chevron bow along with faux eggs and a large straw carrot.
The front facade is simple but signifies that Spring is here to stay (I hope!).
Do not forget to sign up for the Apothecary Guild diffuser give away!
I love the new Uptown Acorn! Your Easter/Spring decor is inspiring...as usual.
I love how big those carrots are- definitely an eye catcher! I like your new blog look- very handsome!
You are the master of holiday decorations! Love those carrots on the door and the adorable wreath on the porch. I can tell you're having beautiful weather.
Ron your blog is looking so spiffy! Love the carrots on the door, how cute! I need something on my door and now you've inspired me. The change of seasons is always exciting and your wreath reflects it always.
Loving all your seasonal decorations, Ron! Your gardens are testament to that beautiful weather you have been having.
I LOVE your Spring decor ... so fun and welcoming! Your homes looks beautiful dressed for the new season!
I love the "carrot' door decor and the wreaths of oyster shells are gorgeous!...Spring has definitely arrived at your beautiful porch...Have a great weekend and Happy Spring!
I so love the ever changing look of your oyster shell wreath. It is just awesome... Happy Spring!
I sure like your large and impressive carrots...and the fun wreath. Lookin' goood.
I'm popping over from Linda's blog and I'm so glad she introduced you to us! Your blog design looks fabulous and I love the Spring décor on your home. You have a new follower. Have a great day!
Late to the party...sorry! Love the new design (say it over at Linda's)...love Linda too!! Loving all the new Easter/Spring decor. Do you know the name of the color your front door is painted? We will be painting this spring and I love that color. I love the color Amanda used on her front door as well, since we will most likely be going back to our Charleston Green shutters (our fence color as well).
Looks beautiful! The carrots are fun and whimsical. Love all your plants too.


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David Tod
121 bytes added, 19:17, 23 May 2013
{{infobox
| image = [[File:Tod, David.jpg]]
| caption = Governors portrait of David Tod that hangs in the Ohio Statehouse. He served as governor of Ohio from 1862 to 1864. As a Civil War Governor, Tod oversaw the recruitment of troops, established the Ohio Military Agency to aid Ohio soldiers and called up troops to defend the state's borders from attack by the Confederate army.

David Tod was the twenty-fifth governor of Ohio.

Tod was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on February 21, 1805. His father was Judge George Tod. He studied the law and was admitted to the bar in 1827. In 1832, he became postmaster of Warren, Ohio. That same year he married Maria Smith, and they had a total of seven children.

A member of the Democratic Party, Tod went into politics in 1838 and successfully ran for the Ohio Senate. Like most Democrats, he opposed the National Bank. He also helped to gain passage of a law that made it easier for escaped slaves to be returned to their masters in Kentucky. Choosing not to run for a second term, Tod returned to his law practice in Warren. He remained active in Ohio's Democratic Party. As a result of his work, he earned the nickname "giant of Democracy." Tod ran unsuccessfully for governor against Mordecai Bartley in 1844 and William Bebb in 1846.

President James Polk appointed Tod as United States minister to Brazil in 1847. He held the position until 1851. Returning to Ohio, Tod concentrated on his business interests in the Youngstown area. Tod had invested in a number of industries, including coal, oil, and railroads. He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1858, but Republican John Hutchins defeated him.

By the end of the decade, the Democratic Party, as well as the nation as a whole, was being divided along regional lines. In the Election of 1860, the Democratic Party split into the Northern Democratic Party and the Southern Democratic Party. Tod was one of Ohio's delegates to the Northern Democratic national convention in 1860, and he ultimately served as chairman of the convention. He was instrumental in assuring Stephen Douglas's nomination as the Northern Democratic presidential candidate in the Election of 1860. Republican Abraham Lincoln won the presidency, and the nation soon was at war. Rather than join with the Peace Democrats in opposing the war, Tod chose to become part of the Union Party, a new party consisting of pro-war Democrats and Republicans, and supported Lincoln's administration. As a result, the Union Party chose Tod as its gubernatorial candidate in 1861. Tod easily defeated Democrat Hugh J. Jewett and became the state's governor in 1862.

Tod faced many challenges as governor because of the war. He worked to provide medical aid for wounded Ohio soldiers. As the war continued, there were no longer enough volunteers to fill Ohio's quotas. Tod had to administer a draft to fulfill federal government requirements under the Militia Act of 1862. In 1863, the federal government assumed control of the draft under the Conscription Act, also known as the Enrollment Act, but Tod still had to contend with Ohioans opposed to the draft.

As Confederate troops came close to Ohio's southern borders in 1862, Tod created the "Squirrel Hunters" to strengthen Ohio's defenses. He also had to contend with strong Copperhead sentiment in the state, especially from Clement Vallandigham and Samuel S. Cox. During Tod's administration, Democrats managed to regain control of a number of elected positions in the state. Tod did respond quickly to Confederate John Hunt Morgan's raid into southern Ohio.

Although Tod would have liked to run for a second term as governor, Union Party leaders chose John Brough instead. There was a perception that Tod was still too close to the Democratic Party, and he did not speak favorably of emancipation of the slaves. Tod only served one term as governor, from 1862 to 1864. While Brough was also a former Democrat, he seemed to be a more outspoken supporter of African-American freedom and of the Union war effort.

In June 1864, President Lincoln offered to appoint Tod to be Secretary of the Treasury. Lincoln selected Tod for a number of reasons, most notably Tod's former support of the Democratic Party. Lincoln hoped to unite Northern Americans of all political leanings behind the Northern war effort and believed that appointing a Democrat to a cabinet position would help accomplish this. Tod, though, was suffering from poor health. He had experienced a number of strokes, and decided not to accept the position. He never held any other political office and died of a stroke in November 1868.

*[[American Civil War]]*[[Bank of the United States]]*[[Mordecai Bartley]]*[[Battle of Fort Fizzle]]*[[William BebbOhio]]
*[[John Brough]]
*[[CopperheadsWilliam Bebb]]*[[Democratic PartyMordecai Bartley]]
*[[Stephen Douglas]]
*[[Hugh Jewett]]
*[[Abraham Lincoln]]
*[[Morgan's Raid]]
*[[Ohio]]
*[[Peace Democrats]]
*[[James Polk]]
*[[Railroads]]
*[[Republican Party]]
*[[Squirrel Hunters]]
*[[George Tod]]
*[[Battle of Fort Fizzle]]
*[[Youngstown, Ohio]]
*[[Democratic Party]]
*[[Union Party]]
*[[Whig Party]]
*[[Youngstown, OhioBank of the United States]]*[[Railroads]]*[[Republican Party]]*[[American Civil War]]*[[Hugh Jewett]]*[[Copperheads]]*[[Morgan's Raid]]*[[http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/ohgovernment/governors/tod.html David Tod: 1862 - 1864]]

#The Governors of Ohio. Columbus: The Ohio Historical Society, 1954
#Trester, Delmer J. "The Political Career of David Tod." M.A. thesis. The Ohio State University. 1950.
#Abbott, Richard H. Ohio's War Governors. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 1962.
#Dee, Christine, ed. Ohio's War: The Civil War in Documents. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2007.
#Naragon, Harold L.The Ohio Gubernatorial Campaign of 1863. M.A. thesis. The Ohio State University. 1934.
#Reid, Whitelaw. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Generals and Soldiers. Cincinnati, OH: Clarke, 1895.
#Roseboom, Eugene H. The Civil War Era: 1850-1873. Columbus: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1944.
#Trester, Delmer J. "David Tod: 1862-1864." The Ohio Historical Society. Ohio Fundamental Documents Searchable Database. http://www.ohiohistory.org/onlinedoc/ohgovernment/governors/tod.html
#Trester, Delmer J. "The Political Career of David Tod." M.A. thesis. The Ohio State University. 1950.
[[Category:History People]][[Category:Civil War]][[Category:Civil War]][[Category:Government and Politics]]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home / Africa / Kudu still on the horizon?
Kudu still on the horizon?
Ian October 5, 2016	Africa, Features, News Comments Off on Kudu still on the horizon? 818 Views
While Kudu may not have grabbed as many front pages as has become commonplace, it appears that the ambitious multi-billion dollar project is still on the cards. This comes as Namibia Petroleum Corporation board chair Johannes !Gawaxab and Managing Director Immanual Mulunga were both prepared to provide updated information on Kudu, the fuel import quota and the fuel storage facility in the same week.
Kudu as it appears, is very much still on the horizon. To quote NAMCOR spokesperson Utaara Hoveka which he stated in an emailed response to the Economist, "Well, you will have an opportunity to engage both the Chairman & Managing Director. It is still very much on the cards."
Reuters reported that a decision on Kudu was to be made in the middle of this year, stating in an article dated 29 October 2015 that, "A final investment decision is expected mid-2016 on Namibia's long-delayed Kudu gas-to-power project, which is seen as key to boosting electricity security in the south west African country, a senior government official said on Thursday."
Reuters further quoted NAMCOR Managing Director Mulunga as saying, ""We are on track. The project is at a stage where it's never been before and we should be able to make a final investment decision or financial close by June next year."
NAMCOR owns 44% of the upstream venture, for which the state has committed to help fund associated development costs. Mulunga said a preferred technical operator, which will also take the 31% equity vacated by Tullow Oil, was selected and negotiations were ongoing. He did not name the preferred operator.
Discussions were also continuing with the World Bank's private arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), over the possibility of the IFC taking an equity stake in the venture, he added.
"All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together," Mulunga said of the project expected to produce its first electricity at the start of 2019.
The Ministry of Finance appeared at odds concerning the project. A local report stated that the power project would cost taxpayers as much as N$42 billion, with treasury having to fork out N$10 billion in cash and the remainder in guarantees. Commenting at the time, Minister of Finance Hon. Calle Schlettwein was quoted as saying, "Generally, guarantees warrant immediate payment by the guarantor (in this case government), should the borrower fail to meet obligations. It is worth noting that guarantees are statutory expenses and pose risks to government financial operations in the event of defaults."
Schlettwein added, "there will be no room to issue further guarantees to other state-owned enterprises to undertake projects of national importance." As it is, four state-owned enterprises were recently placed on a negative outlook by rating's agency Fitch.
Whatever the case may be, Mulunga and !Gawaxab are now expected to put in a good show on 22 September to raise the profile of the power project yet again.
Previous Gemfields auctions nets $11.1m
Next Namibia's fiscal deficit to narrow on rising mining production, spending cut backs – BMI


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How Grey's Anatomy wrote out Justin Chambers' character, Alex Karev
By Variety Staff| 2 years ago
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched 'Leave a Light On,' the 16th episode of Season 16 of Grey's Anatomy.
Adios, Alex Karev. Justin Chambers has officially been written out of Grey's Anatomy.
In the March 5 episode entitled 'Leave a Light On,' Chambers' longtime character revealed in a heartfelt letter that he has reunited with Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), one of the original interns of the series and Alex's ex-wife. In letters sent to his current wife Jo (Camilla Luddington), Miranda (Chandra Wilson) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Alex explained that he found Izzie and learned that she had his kids. So he decided to stay and make up for the five years he lost with them by raising them now.
Justin Chambers on Grey's Anatomy. (ABC via Getty Images)
"It is nearly impossible to say goodbye to Alex Karev. That is as true for me and for all of the writers at Grey's Anatomy, as it is for the fans," said showrunner Krista Vernoff in a statement. "We have loved writing Alex. And we have loved watching Justin Chambers' nuanced portrayal of him. For 16 seasons, 16 years, we have grown up alongside Alex Karev. We have been frustrated by his limitations and we have been inspired by his growth and we have come to love him deeply and to think of him as one of our very best friends. We will miss him terribly. And we will always be grateful for his impact, on our show, on our hearts, on our fans, on the world."
Read more: Grey's Anatomy: Eight of the best Alex Karev moments in honour of Justin Chambers' departure
Alex had been off-screen since the November 14 episode. The last few episodes featured explanations of his absence that included his onscreen wife Jo mentioning he wasn't returning her calls. In 'Leave a Light On,' Jo read the letter silently, as Chambers' voiceover dictated the words for the audience.
Justin Chambers in Season 13 of Grey's Anatomy. (Getty)
"I'm sorry," the letter began. "You deserve more than a letter. This cowardice, this letter, it's officially the worst thing I've ever done. But it's about me, Jo; it's not about you. It's not what you deserve. You deserve and have earned so much better than this."
Scenes of Jo were intercut with a walk down memory lane for Jo and Alex, as well as Alex and some other pivotal people in his life, including his father and his newly-discovered children.
The letter said that Alex loves how "brilliant and brave" Jo is and how she made him better, or at least "kinder." He wrote that he loves Jo, but that he's also in love with Izzie.
"There was a part of me that always wondered, that always wanted to know, that always felt like we left things unresolved — unfinished," he wrote of Izzie. "I reached out to Izzie and we started talking and it scared the crap out of me because it felt like no time had passed — like Izzie and I were kind of frozen together in time. And now, now we're not."
Izzie was "on a farm in Kansas, in this incredible place in the middle of nowhere," he continued. And that's where he was, too.
The cast of 'Grey's Anatomy' actors Ellen Pompeo, Justin Chambers, Jessica Capshaw, Jerrika Hinton, Chandra Wilson, Caterina Scorsone, Sarah Drew, Kelly McCreary, and James Pickens Jr. pose for a portrait at the 2016 People's Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theater on January 6, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Smallz & Raskind/Getty Images for The People's Choice Awards) (Getty)
"Izzie had my kids, and I know you get what that really means. I know you of all people know why I can't just leave now," he wrote. "I have a chance to make this family whole, and I just hope you love me back enough to let me take it. I need to give these kids the family you and I never had."
He also went on to tell Jo that he did mean it when he asked her to marry him, and she was not just the "let's get a dog girl." But the pull of having kids was just too much for him.
"I had this family I never knew I had on this insane farm, and I wished getting everything I always wanted didn't have to hurt you in the process," he wrote.
He concluded the letter by thanking her for taking care of him. He also said he signed divorce papers already and left her everything, including his shares in Grey Sloan.
"You deserve everything good in this life, Jo. I hope you find someone better than me," he wrote, bookending the letter with another "I'm sorry."
Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers on Grey's Anatomy. (Getty)
After Jo finished her letter, it was Miranda's turn to read hers. In that one, Alex spent time telling her how much she taught him, even when it meant pushing his buttons. "Sure, it would be pretty great if I just stayed there forever and repaid you for everything you did to me," he wrote, "but you and I both know I can't. Never could. You helped me grow the hell up and took a bullet out of my stomach."
He continued: "It took me a long time to say it but I'm a good ped surgeon. I'm an OK guy. I'm still trying. But I'm a really damn good surgeon," he wrote. "You kicked my ass and asked more of me than anyone."
While Jo cried in response to her letter, Miranda got mad. "It is a matter of grace that Alex Karev is who he is today," she told her husband (Jason George). "He could have just as easily been lost to this world — aimless — but he survived his home, his family, his foster homes and became a man — now a father — a fine surgeon, by luck, by chance."
The episode took a walk down memory lane with some of Izzie and Alex's sweeter and more emotional moments, as well, including their wedding and her almost dying.
Katherine Heigl and Justin Chambers on Grey's Anatomy. (ABC)
Previously, Vernoff told Variety that it was taking so many episodes to explain where Alex was because they wanted to do the story "very carefully." Vernoff was not available for additional comment now, however.
Instead, Meredith's voiceover at the end of the episode spoke for itself: "There really is no good way to say goodbye."
Chambers was a part of the Grey's Anatomy cast from the beginning. When the audience first met his character in the 2005 pilot episode, Alex was a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. As the years went on, the character rose in the ranks of the hospital, becoming a resident and then a paediatric surgical fellow. He also advanced personally, first with his marriage to Izzie, and then with his marriage to Jo.
Grey's Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd, Jesse Williams, Caterina Scorsone, Luddington, Kelly McCreary, Kim Raver and Giacomo Gianniotti.
This article was published with permission by Variety.
Here's what your fave '80s movie stars are up to now


text:
Q: Revert to initial active tab when mouse leaves area, or using JS in Zurb Foundation I want to revert back to the initially active tab when the user moves the mouse away from the menu.
I have a left top-level menu that changes the active tab on hover, using data-options="is_hover:true"
When hovering over any of the tabs, it displays the second-level menu in place of the main content (which is displayed in a tab, which is displayed by default on page load).
I want the default content tab to display whenever the mouse leaves the 1st or 2nd level menu area.
Alternatively, I can make other elements detect the mouse hover and use JS to command the initial tag to be active. However I cannot find any documentation on what the JS should say, eg:
$( ".detect" ).hover(function() {
    $( SET TAB1 TO ACTIVE PLEASE
});

A: In the end what I did was put the default content out of the tab an into its own div (where the tabs would go).
I then made none of the tabs active by default in CSS.
Then I used JS to deactivate any active tabs on hover of any element with class "detect":
$( ".detect" ).hover(function() {
$(".content.active").removeClass( "active" );
$("li.active").removeClass( "active" );
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Lily Allen has been extremely candid about her mental health in the past, revealing her struggles with bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and postnatal depression following the birth of her daughter Marnie, five – her second child with her ex.
She has opened up about her mental health issues once again for the latest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, revealing that nurses almost sectioned her nearly two years ago, when she had split from Sam and heard he had moved on with someone new, although she already had a boyfriend, MC Meridian Dan.
"It was a build-up of everything and that (Sam's new relationship) was the straw that broke the camel's back," she said. "When I feel that the people I trust most have betrayed that, my whole world falls out from underneath me. (The staff) had me pinned down on the floor. I picked up a water cooler and threw it through the window.
The British star also revealed she battled an eating disorder while on the promo trail for her second album It's Not Me, It's You in 2009, as the thought of having to do photoshoots and red carpet appearances made her stop eating.
The singer says she now in a "good place" and credits therapy for helping her, revealing that she loves her therapist "more than anything" and is "terrified" about when he's going to die.
The 33-year-old has been very open about her personal highs and lows in her new autobiography, My Thoughts Exactly, which was released in September (18).


The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness and other. 2019!
Continued research might lead to more medications. Blood levels of cannabinoids rise faster than when oral products are used. H Neyw York 102 In 1996, these deficits persist while chronically intoxicated. Active substance is the compound thc or their mixture with the role of API in natural pharmaceutical products 23 Pain A 2017 review found only limited evidence for the effectiveness of cannabis in relieving medicine chronic pain in several conditions.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine.However, scientific study of the chemicals.No, hemp is not use for medicine.
84 Cannabis vaporizers have gained popularity because of the perception among users that fewer harmful chemicals are ingested when components are inhaled via aerosol rather than smoke. Medicinal Cannabis, there is insufficient evidence to safe confirm its effectiveness for this condition. Proc Natl Acad Sci 46 Cannabis smoke contains thousands of organic and inorganic chemical compounds. The FDA approved a CBDbased liquid medication called Epidiolex for the treatment of two forms of severe childhood epilepsy. quot; and Implications for the Acute Care Settin" Doi, cassano T," annals of Internal Medicine, controlling epileptic seizures. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions. History, trezza V, natural vs synthetic In theory, canada becomes second nation in the world to legalize marijuan" Cannabinoid molecule of a synthetic origin should be exactly the same as its phytocannabinoid analogue that is produced with biosynthesis in the cannabis plant. Pharmacology, and several European countries have approved nabiximols Sativex a mouth spray containing THC and CBD.
Citation of the source is appreciated, using the following language: Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health;.S.THC can increase appetite and reduce nausea.Its use for MS is approved in ten countries.
PDQ Integrative, understanding the Laws and Their Limitation" Ineck JR February 2006, an evidence based review of acute and longterm effects of cannabis use on executive cognitive function" The Annals of Pharmacotherapy Review, pDF," Which means it cannot produce a high or get you. A b Huestis MA August 2007, retrieved" and Complementary Therapies Editorial Board. Approximately, cannabis and Cannabinoids PDQ 70 Similar to THC, medicinal cannabis products to be legalise""" alternative, cBD has poor oral bioavailability, state Medical Marijuana Laws. quot; burns TL, albert Lockhart and Manley West began studying the health effects of traditional cannabis use in Jamaican communities.


If you're looking to help yourself or someone you love struggling with substance abuse issues in Montezuma, IN, Rehabs.com provides a sizable Internet database of private exclusive centers, as well as a host of other options. We can support you in finding drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs for a variety of addictions to marijuana, Clonidine or any addictive substance or alcohol. Search for a highly-rated rehab center in Montezuma now, and launch on the road to sobriety.
216 St. Mary's Lake Rd.
Getting clean from K2, K2, alcohol or any other addictive substance you or your loved one is addicted to takes an specifically-tailored treatment plan. Two options of addiction treatment centers in Montezuma can help you succeed: either Residential or Out-patient Rehabilitation. Residential treatment offers lasting benefits with extended stays in a top rehabilitation clinic. Outpatient treatments may be convenient, but lack the constancy and resources of sixty-day programs to get sober. Ultimately, your decision is your own, and we are here to help you make the best choice.
Detaching yourself from the environment of the drug or alcohol addiction can help separate distractions and temptations that prevent complete sobriety. When viewing rehab as a therapeutic shelter, addicts will find private exclusive programs in cities outside of Montezuma, Indiana. Offering resort-like features, the best clinics help achieve a state of physical, mental and emotional recovery. However, those looking for outpatient programs may find a facility close to your residence is a less difficult choice.
A dual-diagnosis refers to someone who is simultaneously struggling with both a drug or alcohol abuse issue and behavioral or mental issues. For instance, an addiction to Percocet or marijuana combined with compulsive shopping or schizophrenia. In these cases, a residential rehab center becomes almost a necessity, incorporating quality inpatient treatment with group support, such as one might find in AA. Luxury drug rehabs in Montezuma, Indiana will provide state-of-the-art treatment with upscale amenities for anyone requiring the very best drug treatment, just as Montezuma alcohol rehab centers will help those battling alcoholism to achieve sobriety.
Note About Insurance for Addiction Treatment: Humana, Aetna and Great West Insurance often offer at least partial coverage for your addiction therapy, and you can find out more about your own carrier's policy or benefit status here.


text:
Q: SELECT Employees with the top three salaries for the last two years There are tables Employees
CREATE TABLE Employees
(
    id int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1, 1) PRIMARY KEY,
    name  nvarchar(100) NOT NULL,
    depID int NOT NULL,
    salary money NOT NULL,
    FOREIGN KEY (depID) REFERENCES Departments(id)
);

and Payments
CREATE TABLE Payments
(
    id int NOT NULL IDENTITY(1, 1) PRIMARY KEY,
    userID int NOT NULL,
    createdDate date DEFAULT GETDATE(),
    sum money NOT NULL,
    FOREIGN KEY (userID) REFERENCES Employees(id)
);

I need to get names of Employees with the top three salaries for the last two years.
I tried to use the query below, but it doesn't work and I got an error.
SELECT TOP 3 name
FROM Employees
WHERE id in (SELECT id, SUM(sum) as SumTotal FROM Payments
             WHERE (createdDate BETWEEN '2015-09-01' AND '2013-09-01')
             ORDER BY SumTotal);

Error message:

The ORDER BY clause is invalid in views, inline functions, derived tables, subqueries, and common table expressions, unless TOP or FOR XML is also specified.

How to make it work?

A: This is one way to do it using ctes.
Demo
with pymt as
(
SELECT userid, sum(sum) as sumtotal
FROM Payments
WHERE createdDate BETWEEN '2013-09-01' AND '2015-09-01'
group by userid
)
, ename as
(
select e.name, pymt.sumtotal, row_number() over(order by pymt.sumtotal desc) as rn
from pymt join employees e
on pymt.userid = e.id
)
select name
from ename
where rn < = 3;

A: Try this:-
SELECT userID, SUM(sum) as SumTotal INTO #temp
FROM Payments
WHERE (createdDate BETWEEN '2015-09-01' AND '2013-09-01')
group by userID
ORDER BY SumTotal

SELECT TOP 3 name
FROM Employees e join #temp
on e.id = #temp.userID

A: You have to do what the error message tell you to do, put the TOP where you have your order by :
SELECT name
FROM Employees
WHERE id in (SELECT TOP 3 id, SUM(sum) as SumTotal FROM Payments
             WHERE (createdDate BETWEEN '2015-09-01' AND '2013-09-01')
             ORDER BY SumTotal)

[EDIT]
If we follow error message, this should be ok:
SELECT name
FROM Employees
WHERE id in ( Select x.userId From (SELECT TOP 3 userId, SUM([sum]) as SumTotal FROM Payments
             WHERE (createdDate BETWEEN '2015-09-01' AND '2013-09-01')
             Group By userId
             ORDER BY SumTotal) x);

A: select top 3
emp.id as id,
emp.name as name,
sum(pay.sum) as total
from employees emp
join payments pay
    on emp.id = pay.user_id
--where pay.createdDate BETWEEN '2015-09-01' AND '2013-09-01'
where pay.createdDate BETWEEN '2013-09-01' AND '2015-09-01'
group by emp.id, emp.name

This should work

A: People are way over-complicating things. I'm pretty sure this will get you what you want:
SELECT TOP 3 employees.id, Name,
             Sum([sum]) AS [TotalPayments]
FROM Employees
inner join Payments on employees.id = payments.userid
WHERE createdDate BETWEEN  '2013-09-01' and '2015-09-01'
Group By employees.id, Name
Order BY TotalPayments DESC

SqlFiddle to test it
If you want just the names column, you could wrap that query with another select:
select Name from (
  SELECT TOP 3 employees.id, Name,
    Sum([sum]) AS [TotalPayments]
  FROM Employees
  inner join Payments on employees.id = payments.userid
  WHERE createdDate BETWEEN  '2013-09-01' and '2015-09-01'
  Group By employees.id, Name
  Order BY TotalPayments DESC
) q

A: SELECT TOP 3 Name,
             Sum(sum) AS sum
FROM Employees
WHERE createdDate BETWEEN '2015-09-01' AND '2013-09-01'
Group By Name
Order BY 2 DESC


Are you a little WILD ? A little SWEET ? Then our Savanna Rose head wrap is just the right fit for you Royal! This playful animal print head wrap is a go to for whenever you want to tap into your alter ego!!! So what are you waiting for?! GOOOO!


The BBC web site in Great Britain has created a little slide show about what is believed to be the world's oldest surviving pair of twin horses. The pair are currently in the care of the Veteran Horse Society (VHS) in Wales, at their farm by the sea.
The VHS is a wonderful organization that not only serves in a rescue/retirement/welfare capacity but also has a strong educational and promotional mission, encouraging the continued use and fitness of older horses. Prizes are given to aged horses competing in shows and in public view.


text:
At 40, MTV Is Officially Over the Hill
Born in 1981, the network soon grew to include reality TV and the VMAs. But nothing compares to its glory days of 24/7 music videos
Michelle Delgado
A flag in New York City's Times Square marks MTV's 40th birthday.
On March 27, 2021, roughly one year into the pandemic, "Saturday Night Live" opened with a cringey skit that mocked pandemic-era spring breakers as lusty, dead-eyed degenerates who had remorselessly triggered a coronavirus surge the previous year. "You're watching MTV Spring Break live, at Miami Beach," a voice-over announced, "where the party don't stop until the government-mandated curfew!"
This image of MTV—washed up, hungover, and grimly partying on—has come to define the channel's diminished relevance in 2021.
But when MTV first launched 40 years ago, it both captured and created the zeitgeist of teenage culture. For roughly two decades, audiences relied on MTV as a gateway to new music, fashion, experimental film and visual effects.
"A lot of these movements, consciously or unconsciously, came together in MTV," says Smithsonian curator emeritus and visual music expert Kerry Brougher. "And then all of a sudden, they were in your living room."
A MTV t-shirt was on display during the grand opening of the National Museum Of American History's Innovation Wing in 2015.
The Birth of MTV
By the late 1970s, the concept of a "video radio" television channel floated on the entertainment industry's periphery. In 1975, Queen astonished audiences with a then-novel video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" on "Top of the Pops." Two years later, songwriter Michael Nesmith, a member of the made-for-TV band The Monkees, became an early champion of the idea after making a cinematic video for the song "Rio." As the '80s drew near, music videos increasingly captivated television executives and radio producers who sensed their commercial potential.
One such executive was John Lack, who's largely credited with shepherding MTV into existence, according to I Want My MTV, an oral history by music journalists Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks. In 1979, American Express purchased half of Warner Cable Corporation for $175 million, forming a joint venture dubbed Warner-American Express Satellite Entertainment Company (WASEC). Lack was tasked by the venture with developing programming that would join The Movie Channel and Nickelodeon, which targeted adults and children respectively. To Lack and others at WASEC, teenagers were an overlooked—and potentially lucrative—audience.
Audiences' hunger for MTV reflected a larger shift in American television habits. By 1989, cable expanded to 79 channels and 53 million subscribers.
On June 19, 1981, a brief New York Times column officially announced MTV's arrival: The channel would be for "the big kids, the kind that get turned on by the big rock sound and the weird assemblages that make it." MTV's shrewd programming strategy relied on promotional music videos obtained from record labels entirely for free. Then, MTV planned to ply its teenage audience with advertisements for soft drinks, movies and beer, rotating the ads through different days and time slots in a radio-style strategy that rejected television advertising's usual fixed schedule.
When MTV launched on August 1, 1981, cable infrastructure was so limited that MTV's own staff had to cross the Hudson to a New Jersey bar that got the channel. There, they cheered as footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing rolled, followed by the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." Viewers who managed to catch the premiere had seen nothing like it, and those who didn't soon heard about it. As documented in I Want My MTV, musicians were equally dazzled. Stevie Nicks was "stupefied;" Dave Grohl felt it was "a transmission from a magical place." Janet Jackson "loved watching it." Heart's Nancy Wilson remembers "craving it like crazy." And Lenny Kravitz resembled countless American teenagers when he spent a family vacation ignoring Bahamian beaches, instead remaining glued to MTV in a hotel room.
Throughout the 1980s, MTV drafted pop stars including Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie and Boy George into assertive ad campaigns urging viewers to demand the channel from their cable operators. Audiences' hunger for MTV reflected a larger shift in American television habits. By 1989, cable expanded to 79 channels and 53 million subscribers.
A surprise hit — and early misses
In 1983, David Bowie sat down with MTV VJ Mark Goodman. He was promoting "Let's Dance," then a No. 1 hit penned with co-writer Niles Rodgers, but Bowie instead wanted to discuss another topic. "It occurred to me, having watched MTV over the last few months," he began, plucking at his sock, "that it's a solid enterprise that has a lot going for it. I'm just floored by the fact that there's so few Black artists featured on it." Bowie fixed Goodman in his stare. "Why is that?"
Though it lasts just four minutes, the interview is excruciating. Goodman's recycled corporate excuses seem mealy-mouthed and evasive, while Bowie's body language conveys his skepticism as he leans back, brow furrowed. The clip has racked up 3.1 million views on MTV News' YouTube channel.
According to Goodman, Bowie's interview drew public attention to MTV's conspicuous lack of Black artists—an issue some MTV staffers were already uneasy about behind the scenes. Since its launch, MTV had sidestepped accusations of racism by claiming its programming merely focused on rock music. Writing for a feminist academic journal in 1986, the New School's Elizabeth Ellsworth and Margot Kennard Larson point out: "The fact that the groups that perform in MTV's music videos are composed mainly of young, white males is not surprising since rock has historically been a white, male-dominated industry. Not only the musicians but the songwriters, technicians, engineers, producers and distributors are predominantly white males." But instead of including Black artists, MTV played "basically, white R&B acts," Goodman told Tannenbaum and Marks, contradicting MTV's rock defense.
This manifestation of systemic racism is familiar to Krystal Klingenberg, a curator at the National Museum of American History and expert on global Black popular music. She cites Little Richard, today considered a gender-bending, boundary-pushing forefather of rock-and-roll, as a precursor to MTV's racial biases. "Here you have somebody who was doing something really wild and bombastic and new and amazing," Klingenberg says. Yet it was white singer Pat Boone who, in 1956, became "the big star, via essentially milquetoast versions of what other artists were doing," she says, thanks to his access to mainstream media and distribution networks. Boone's cover of "Tutti Frutti" climbed to number 12 on the charts, eclipsing Little Richard's peak at number 17.
Klingenberg also points out that America has always devalued Black contributions to culture. "You can afford to not include as many Black artists if you don't see their work as being crucial to the pop cultural zeitgeist," Klingenberg says. "And Black popular music, whether central or peripheral, has been critical to the pop musical zeitgeist in this country for a hundred years."
Though countless Black artists shaped pop music, Michael Jackson ultimately prompted change at MTV. On May 16, 1983, more than 50 million television viewers watched Jackson perform the moonwalk on a broadcast—not cable—television special. But throughout that year, as Jackson gradually released music videos to promote his new album, Thriller, he was noticeably absent from MTV. According to In the Studio With Michael Jackson, CBS Records executive Walter Yetnikoff ultimately forced MTV to play "Billie Jean" by threatening to pull all CBS artists' videos. In I Want My MTV, Yetnikoff recalls warning that he would publicly accuse MTV of snubbing Michael Jackson because of his race. Though "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" eventually broke into MTV's heavy rotation, both quickly vanished, despite Thriller's continuing tenure as a chart-topping success.
Michael Jackson films his 1983 "Beat It" video.
By November, one year after its release, Thriller had sold 20 million copies—sales so massive that the New York Times announced a comeback of the record industry at large. Jackson's popularity was undeniable, and finally, MTV was eager to play another of his videos. To finance the extravagant monster-movie video for the song "Thriller," director John Landis persuaded Showtime (then available in less than one million homes) to pay $250,000 to host the premiere. MTV paid $250,000 to show it second.
Creatively and commercially, "Thriller" was a triumph. By 1985, it had won a Grammy, three MTV Video Music Awards and the People's Choice Award for favorite music video—and created a market for music videos on VHS. "Thriller" was also a turning point for MTV. On Christmas Day, 1983, the New York Times recapped pop music's tumultuous year, noting that Michael Jackson "finally brought black music to MTV."
Still, it wasn't until August 6, 1988—six years after MTV's launch—that the channel finally aired a show that centered Black artists. Championed by production staffers Peter Dougherty and Ted Demme, "Yo! MTV Raps" premiered with rap and hip hop music videos, plus exclusive footage from a recent Run-DMC tour. In I Want My MTV, Judy McGrath, who eventually became the CEO of MTV Networks, recalled that the episode achieved astronomical ratings, topped only by the Video Music Awards and Live Aid.
"Yo! MTV Raps" brought NWA, MC Hammer, Tupac, Sir Mix-a-Lot and other iconic hip hop artists to the channel—but within MTV, misunderstandings among the predominantly white staff persisted. In I Want My MTV, staffers recall Michelle Vonfield, who enforced MTV's content standards, objecting to the Heavy D lyric, "I'm not your H-E-R-B" because she mistook the slang for "nerd" as a marijuana reference.
Rap group Public Enemy appears on a segment of "Yo! MTV Raps" with hosts Dr. Dre and Ed Lover on September 19, 1991, in New York City.
Nonetheless, Klingenberg says "Yo! MTV Raps" made hip hop mainstream without compromising its authenticity. The show brought viewers directly into the Black, urban communities actively creating the genre. "It felt more interesting and engaging to have you immersed in the world where the music's coming from," host and hip hop artist Fab 5 Freddy told New York Magazine. "'Yo! MTV Raps' put hip-hop in every home," host DJ Jazzy Jeff added. "That helped with the sales. That helped with the fan base. That helped everything grow."
Why MTV abandoned music videos
By the 1990s, the novelty of music videos had finally worn off. From 1995 to 2000, MTV slashed its music programming by nearly 40 percent, replacing it with animated and reality shows directly portraying American teens.
In truth, MTV had long played non-music shows, starting with 1987's game show, "Remote Control." But 1992's "The Real World" represented a new era. The idea was dreamed up by producers Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jon Murray, who put a cost-saving documentary spin on MTV's directive to create a teen soap opera. From 500 applicants, MTV cast a studiously diverse group of seven teenagers, who became roommates in a New York City loft while the cameras rolled.
Over the course of 13 episodes, "The Real World" painted an intimate portrait of the minor dramas of roommate life, from squabbles over cleaning to occasional personality clashes and discussions of current events. "It started out as a surprisingly contemplative show that contained some of the most candid discussions of sex and race that I'd ever seen on television up to that point," wrote NPR's Linda Holmes.
Among the first season's cast, Kevin Powell stood out for his unwillingness to shy away from conversations about race. "This country is racist as hell," Powell bluntly told Andre Comeau, a white cast member. But the season's most heated argument unfolded between Powell and Julie Gentry, an Alabamian who told him to "Get off the black-white thing!" The conversations were messy and palpably real. "Julie and I had the most famous argument in TV history on racism," Powell recalled in "The Real World Homecoming: New York," a March 2021 special that reunited the cast.
The 1990s also saw MTV's animation department expand into a "creative laboratory" that debuted 16 original animated programs (more than any other decade in MTV's history). Shows like 1993's "Beavis and Butt-Head" were not only experimental, but also funny, subversive and often critically acclaimed.
Daria followed its titular character as she navigated high school, family relationships, politics, race, and more.
This was particularly true of "Daria," which followed its titular character as she navigated high school, family relationships, politics, race, and more. For many, particularly MTV's female viewers, "Daria" captured the experience of discovering and defining a worldview and identity for the first time. "We were trying to process all those horrible things, in a lighthearted way," showrunner and co-creator Glenn Eichler told Variety in 2017. "And let people exhale a little bit and say it's not just me or thank god I'm not there anymore."
Still, the creative and critical success of MTV's experimental programming was always secondary to its commercial concerns. "The Real World" was soon joined by three additional reality shows, as well as dozens of comedy, news, competition and scripted shows including "Road Rules," "The Ben Stiller Show," "The Jon Stewart Show" and "The Challenge." Reality shows consistently drew bigger audiences to MTV, particularly after YouTube launched in 2005 with its on-demand access to music videos.
As reality programming boomed during the 2000s, MTV churned out hits like "My Super Sweet 16," which documented the lavish birthday bashes of spoiled rich kids, and "Jersey Shore," a Real World-on-steroids that placed eight roommates in a house rigged with cameras. At their best, MTV's reality shows were not only entertaining but impactful in teenagers' lives. A 2014 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research tied a 5.7 percent reduction in teen pregnancies to MTV's "16 and Pregnant," which followed the lives and struggles of young mothers. When new episodes aired, researchers saw spikes in internet searches for abortion and birth control, as well as fewer teen pregnancies in areas with high rates of viewership.
But MTV's continued relevance was never assured. To some, a 2011 show called "Ridiculousness"—an abrasive version of "America's Funniest Home Videos" curating viewer-submitted accidents and embarrassing moments—epitomizes its fall from grace. "Ridiculousness" occupied 113 hours of a 168 hour stretch of programming in June 2020, according to Variety. Soon after, The Ringer dismissively dubbed MTV "the 'Ridiculousness' network" after reporting the show ran uninterrupted for more than 36 hours straight. To Holmes, of NPR, it's a missed opportunity. "MTV's reality programming isn't terrible now because it's reality programming," she concluded. "It's terrible because it's terrible."
Charting the fall of MTV through the VMAs
Across four decades of controversies, experiments and impact on pop culture, MTV's annual Video Music Awards (VMAs) are perhaps the best measure of the channel's reach and influence. First introduced in 1984, the VMAs were immediately destined to live on in pop culture infamy—thanks to Madonna, who burst out of a 17-foot-tall layer cake to perform "Like a Virgin." Over-the-top behavior and fashion continued to captivate audiences, who tuned in to watch iconic pop culture moments unfold in real time. During the 2001 awards, Britney Spears performed "I'm a Slave 4 U" draped in a yellow Burmese python. In 2009, Kanye West hijacked Taylor Swift's acceptance speech—a moment reminiscent of Courtney Love's scene-stealing decision to pelt Madonna with a makeup compact during an red carpet interview at the 1996 VMAs. The momentum propelled MTV through to 2010, when the VMAs hit an all-time high of 11.4 million television viewers.
Britney Spears performs "I'm a Slave 4 U" draped in a yellow Burmese python during the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.
But even Beyoncé's 2011 mid-performance pregnancy announcement and Lady Gaga's 2012 meat dress couldn't keep audiences tuning in forever. By 2012, VMA viewership plummeted by more than 50 percent to just 6.1 million viewers, then continued to hemorrhage for six consecutive years, dwindling to just 1.93 million television viewers in 2019.
In 2020, MTV touted that the VMAs' "total minutes consumed" climbed by eight percent, adding up to 1.33 billion minutes of viewership across social media and other digital platforms. The metric is both a reflection of the streaming era and a distraction from the fact that the VMAs drew just 1.32 million television viewers, despite being simulcast across 11 ViacomCBS channels as well as The CW. As NBC and Disney launched their own streaming services, ViacomCBS instead distributed new and classic MTV programs on Comedy Central, Facebook Watch, Quibi, and Pluto TV, among others.
Today, it seems less likely than ever that MTV will return to its music-focused roots. Attempts to reboot "MTV Unplugged" and "TRL" were both short-lived. In 2016, MTV received a blitz of press attention for a show called "Wonderland" that promised to recenter music in MTV's brand. But by 2017, "Wonderland" was gone, memorialized by a handful of videos and an abandoned Twitter account.
Yet music videos themselves continue to drive pop culture. In March 2021, Lil Nas X released a provocative video for "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)," inspiring conservative consternation with scenes of the artist pole dancing into hell. In a New York Times profile, writer Jazmine Hughes drew out Lil Nas X's talent for referencing and reimagining moments that first appeared on MTV. The artist's choreography and gold-spangled costumes at the BET Awards channeled Michael Jackson's video for "Remember the Time," Hughes noted. "But the final moments of this show, too, held a surprise, as Nas leaned over and made out with a male backup dancer." The performance recalled the 2003 VMAs, where Madonna surprised Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera with a mid-performance kiss.
Though MTV is no longer the culture-defining behemoth it once was, its legacy continues to remain inextricable from pop culture, whether the current generation of teenagers tune in or not.
Michelle Delgado | | READ MORE
Michelle Delgado is a D.C.-based freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, CityLab, Literary Hub, and other national and local outlets.
Advertisements Film Music Musical History Musicians Race and Ethnicity Rock and Roll Television


gs SCENE member, Shannon Camp, was named 2008 Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year on September 30 at an awards ceremony at The Marina Inn.
Shannon Camp is a systems and information analyst with The Jackson Companies. Camp has been instrumental in developing a number of chamber initiatives. She chairs the Leadership Grand Strand board of regents and serves on the steering committee of gsSCENE, the chamber's young professionals group. Thanks to her leadership and assistance, gsSCENE now has more than 350 members. In addition to her contributions to the chamber, she is an active volunteer with the Grand Strand Miracle League and serves on the American Heart Association board of directors and on the Heart Ball committee. She also donates her time to United Way of Horry County, North Strand Helping Hand, March of Dimes and American Cancer Society.


text:
Just wrapped up another great semester of teaching at George Washington University (Fall 2019). This time it was cool to be the Professor with her own book teaching international policies for Refugee and Migrant Crisis. …
World Refugee Day: June 20, 2019 This day should be of concern to all of us, as it is a reminder that the issue of refugees, stateless people, asylum seekers and those who remain internally …
Just wrapped up another great semester of teaching at George Washington University (Fall 2019). This time it was cool to be the Professor with her own book teaching international policies for Refugee and Migrant Crisis. GWU students amaze me, very bright and engaged.
World Refugee Day: June 20, 2019
This day should be of concern to all of us, as it is a reminder that the issue of refugees, stateless people, asylum seekers and those who remain internally displaced within their countries continue to pose survival challenges for almost 70 million people of our world.
Regardless of the circumstances responsible for the displacement of people, and the opportunities afforded to them while in displacement, returning home remains the key aspiration for most of those displaced.
Integration into host societies, while a humane goal, remains far from satisfactory for the displaced. Once displaced, all dimensions of a human being; mental, physical, social, economic, political and legal become distorted. The once lost identity, on the day of displacement, can only be regained by returning home.
On this World Refugee Day, let's hope that more effort can be extended to the issue of return than to the making of more refugee camps, collective centers, settlements, shelters, and migrant townships.
My recently published book: Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective elaborates on the meaning of return for those displaced from Kashmir Valley, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Kosovo and Darfur.
https://www.routledge.com/Internal-Displacement-and-Conflict-The-Kashmiri-Pandits-in-Comparative/Rajput/p/book/9781138354265
Discount Code: SOC19
Book: Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective
Available through ROUTLEDGE (Publisher) at 20% discount, use the code SOC19.
Successfully launched my book: Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective
Kosovo and Serbia still embrace the long-running dispute
In exchange for normalizing relations, Kosovo fears border changes and territory swaps by Serbia which is bound to resuscitate old animosities in the two former regions within the Yugoslavia federation.
Kosovo is no longer a province of Serbia, it lost that right in 2008, after Kosovo declared its independence. Serbia has yet to recognize Kosovo's ambitions for a sovereign nation. Serbia's Belgrade government has undermined Kosovo's statehood, which has been recognized by most European countries and the United States.
While the long-running dispute between the two countries continues, the ethnic Serbs displaced from Kosovo continue to live in the outskirts of Belgrade in the collective centers which are soon going to be demolished.
Read the complete case analysis of the displaced ethnic Serbs in the soon to-be published book: 'Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective'.
In addition to the Kashmiri Pandits, the book takes up the issue of the displaced ethnic Serbs, along with those displaced from Georgia (South Ossetia), Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Sudan (Darfur).
First published 2019 by Routledge
ISBN: 978-1-138-35426-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-42765-7 (ebk)
Sudha G. Rajput
My article 'Transitional Policies and Durable Solutions for Displaced Kashmiri Pandits' appears in FORCED MIGRATION REVIEW, OXFORD University Press, U.K.
http://www.fmreview.org/solutions/rajput.html?utm_source=FMR+52+Thinking+ahead%3A+displacement%2C+transition%2C+solutions+-+online&utm_campaign=FMR+Alert+Eng+52+online&utm_medium=email
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/valley-pandits-trying-to-keep-tradition-alive/205463.html
Valley Pandits trying to keep tradition alive
Published on: Mar 7, 2016, 12:30 AM
M Aamir Khan
Srinagar, March 6
On the eve of Shivaratri today, the non-migrants Pandits said they were struggling to keep their age-old traditions alive and continued to face neglect from the successive governments.
"On Herath (Shivaratri), Kashmir used to bustle with activities (before migration) but now we are struggling to keep our traditions alive. When we offer the nightlong prayers tonight, we will especially pray for the resolution of our demands as we have always been ignored by the Centre and the state," said Chunni Lal, president, Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir.
After the migration of Kashmiri Pandits, the 'Herath' celebrations in the Valley have remained low key.
Pandits traditionally hold nightlong pooja on Shivaratri eve. It is followed by 'salaam' the next day (tomorrow). During 'salaam', they visit friends and relatives to extend Herath greetings.
Around 630 Pandit families are at present living in the Valley and they, for long, have been alleging step-motherly treatment. They claim that the government is only bothered about the migrants and does not care about those who stayed after the eruption of militancy more than 25 years ago. Their main demands include rehabilitation of the internally displaced non-migrants and job package for their youth.
Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti president Sanjay Tickoo said the return of migrants and redress of other issues was possible only when they would be taken into confidence.
"We (non-migrants) are the real stakeholders but we are never taken into confidence or consulted whenever the Centre forms a committee on Pandit issues. The government should talk to us and only then, issues facing the Pandit community, be it return of migrants or problems faced by the non-migrants, will get addressed," Tickoo said.
Avtar Krishan, a resident of Sebdan village in Budgam district, regretted that no non-migrant was included in the recently proposed coordination committee on return and rehabilitation of Pandits by the Home Ministry.
"Had the Centre proposed to include any non-migrant, it would have given us confidence. Nobody should be ignored. We too have suffered during the past more than 25 years, especially our children and youth. The non-migrants also need to be suitably rehabilitated," he said.
#AcrossBorders and origins: Can we get smarter at preventing people from fleeing?
By Flavie Halais flaviehalais29 February 2016
A family on their donkeys arrive at their new settlement in Zam Zam camp for internally displaced people in North Darfur. The nature of displacement crises has evolved. How can the international community do a better job at building resilience in affected communities so that fleeing is no longer their only option? Photo by: Albert Gonzalez Farran / UNAMID / CC BY-NC-ND
More than 60 million people around the world have fled their homes due to conflict and disasters, of which about 40 million have been internally displaced. With new conflicts having erupted in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe in recent years, this number is likely to rise.
Perhaps more than ever before, the international community needs adequate policies and tools to address these crises, beginning with prevention mechanisms. How can we do a better job at building the resilience of affected communities so that fleeing ceases to be their only option?
Understanding displacement
Preventing forced migration starts with understanding the nature of conflicts and the reasons that lead people to flee. Too often we have failed to grasp the complexity of crises and the various factors that affect people's safety.
Take the violence caused by militant group Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, which has led to the internal displacement of over 2.2 million people and has led hundreds of thousands of others to seek refuge in neighboring countries. This ongoing crisis cannot be understood without taking into account other factors such as state fragility, lack of economic opportunity in the region, or environmental degradation.
The blurred lines between refugee crises and irregular migration — as can be seen in current migration flows to Europe — also reveal that economic and political factors can play an inextricable role in people's decision to leave.
Understanding the interplay between these different factors requires using more efficient analytical frameworks. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center suggests this begins with a very simple step — agreeing on a common terminology to describe and analyze the causes of displacement.
On one hand, we have the drivers of displacement, or the underlying causes, such as poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, joblessness, tensions over natural resources and food insecurity. On the other hand, we have triggers, or events that act as a tipping point and force people to flee — including armed conflict, floods or famine. Not all populations flee when experiencing these events; preventing displacement therefore involves building a better understanding of what makes people more resilient and adaptable to shocks.
Displacement is political
The nature of displacement crises has evolved. By the end of 2014, 45 percent of refugees were thought to be in protracted situations — where groups of 25,000 people or more have been in exile for over five years — in which they remain for an average of 25 years. Internally displaced persons spend 17 years away from home on average. The length of displacement, coupled with a declining quality of asylum (including reduced economic opportunities, reduced access to services, lack of access to education opportunities for displaced children and marginalization in countries of first asylum) is increasingly leading displaced populations to leave a second time, exposing them to life-threatening travel conditions and abuse. This phenomenon has been referred to as multiple displacement, onward movement and secondary movement.
Environmental disasters have also emerged as a growing cause of displacement, leading at times to confusion as to what sort of action is needed to limit their devastating consequences. Such disasters do not happen in a vacuum, and do not affect people equally.
Marginalized populations such as the poor, women, children and minorities are disproportionately impacted by natural hazards, often because they have been placed in situations of vulnerability. Many people around the world live in areas prone to floods, landslides or volcanic eruptions because of their inability to access safe and adequate housing.
Disaster-induced displacement cannot be addressed without looking at the structural causes of marginalization and vulnerability, from gender discrimination to ethnic tension, corruption and economic inequality. Poverty, tensions surrounding land use and state fragility exacerbated the consequences of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, leading hundreds of people to leave their homes.
Bridging the humanitarian-development divide
Addressing these structural and underlying causes requires a better-coordinated response to disasters and conflicts between the humanitarian and development sectors, whether it seeks to prevent displacement or onward movement. In this regard, recent agreements provided welcome yet incomplete frameworks to address the complexity of displacement crises. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate change agreement, in spite of having achieved breakthroughs in their respective sectors, have been criticized for their lack of coherence and clarity, and their lack of emphasis on displacement.
Both sectors need to acknowledge that resilience-building and humanitarian response must work hand-in-hand.
"The traditional humanitarian way of responding to displacement is not really working," Fran Charles, advocacy director for Syria response at World Vision International, told Devex. "In the Syria crisis what we see is you need to do long-term resilience programming simultaneously with humanitarian intervention."
This, said Charles, implies developing livelihood strategies for Syrians living in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan while addressing their most immediate needs.
Considering the overwhelming extent of human migration, it's hard to keep track of the definitions prescribed for different subgroups — such as migrant, refugee and asylum seeker. Devex breaks down what each term means, as well as why it matters to distinguish among them.
Building evidence
Because livelihood strategies are closely associated with the ability of refugees to work in host countries, World Vision sought to make the case for local governments and multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to change their policies in that regard, Charles told Devex.
World Vision focused on conducting research demonstrating the economic benefit of allowing refugees to work, the result of which will be released later this month. "You have to use that evidence in your advocacy with those people who have influence with the government," she said.
Gathering evidence and improving data collection during all phases of displacement and on all segments of affected populations also helps build a better understanding of displacement crises. UNHCR's Population Movement Tracking Initiative enabled researchers to draw precious and sometimes surprising conclusions about patterns of displacement in and out of Somalia, notably that a key trigger of displacement during conflict lies in the anticipation of changes in the balance of power, not when these changes actually take place, at which time it may already be too late to flee.
Disaggregated data by sex, age, income level and ethnicity is crucial to understanding the dynamics of displacement in order to plan targeted interventions with vulnerable groups. As displacement becomes increasingly urban, improving data collection can help understand the patterns and needs of populations who otherwise go under the radar and are harder to reach.
Improving cross-sector collaboration
Researchers have long urged policymakers to work more closely with local civil society organizations as a way to better address the needs of vulnerable communities and counter some of the top-down decision-making that often takes place during crises.
"Local capacities are often overlooked; there needs to be much more emphasis on assisting local providers, suppliers and existing civil society structures, rather than on bringing in outsiders," said Jan Snoeks, program specialist in peace building at the United Nations Volunteers program. "And when outsiders are brought in, they should focus more on further developing the locally existing capacities rather than only on providing actual response."
Initiatives such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' One Billion Coalition for Resilience, or the partnership between the Global Resilience Partnership and Amplify, are examples of how humanitarian and development actors can engage the participation of local communities through bottom-up innovation.
Seeking partnerships with non-traditional actors is increasingly seen as a necessity among humanitarian and development actors. World Vision's Charles told Devex that her organization has been looking at innovative ways to address the question of water resources in Jordan, which are being strained by the influx of refugees.
"We're bringing in experts in the sector who do work for profit, but are excellent at understanding how water rehabilitation and water systems can work in a middle-income country," she said.
Another area where cross-sector collaboration can be improved is how humanitarian and development actors work with various levels of local governments. With crises and displacement increasingly taking place in an urban setting, municipal governments have not been included enough in conversations surrounding humanitarian responses and resilience building.
"We often see that there are big gaps between [national] governments and the municipal level," said Jørn-Casper Øwre, a program manager at the Global CCCM Cluster. "You have a lot of cases where the municipal level is not sufficiently engaged and brought into the responses."
The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development — known as Habitat III — will take place in October in Quito, Ecuador. Together with the various meetings being held in the lead-up to the conference, it represents a key step toward addressing urban resilience and urban conflict, while improving the cooperation with municipal governments.
A new financing model
Building resilience and addressing displacement doesn't come without a cost, and humanitarian and development actors are well aware that the current funding model needs to be reassessed.
"Realistically speaking, there will never be enough funding and there will always be newly emerging needs, however much money you manage to raise," said Snoeks. "What I think we are missing a bit in terms of resilience, is an acknowledgement that a lot can actually be done without necessarily having large budgets, that people can work together as a community to make things better for themselves. Volunteering is a major asset in this regard."
Charles said there is a crucial need to reform funding appeals and address the long-term dimension of displacement crises.
"We've got to stop kidding ourselves and make appeals and response plans that address the fact that there will be humanitarian needs for the next three to five years, and that's what we should be looking at to finance at least," she said, adding that a more efficient funding strategy needs to involve a stronger investment into disaster risk reduction in order to decrease the costs of disaster relief.
Improving cross-sector collaboration and evidence building, as well as planning for a more efficient funding model are just some of the many issues that will be discussed at the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit.
What should be the priorities of the World Humanitarian Summit regarding forced displacement? Have your say by leaving a comment below.
Across Borders is a monthlong online conversation hosted by Devex and partners — World Vision, the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, the International Organization for Migration and United Nations Volunteers — to analyze and amplify the discussion on global migration and current refugee crises through the lens of global security, development cooperation and humanitarian aid work, and more. Visit the campaign site and join the conversation on social media tagging @devex and #AcrossBorders.
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Flavie Halais
flaviehalais
Flavie Halais is a freelance journalist based in Montreal who covers cities and international social issues. In 2013-2014, Flavie was an Aga Khan Foundation Canada International Fellow, reporting for Nation Media Group in Nairobi, Kenya. She's also reported from Rwanda, Brazil and Colombia.