This document is the recommended first read if you are interested in using Nuitka, understand its use cases, check what you can expect, license, requirements, credits, etc.
Nuitka is the Python compiler. It is written in Python. It is a seamless replacement or extension to the Python interpreter and compiles every construct that CPython 2.6, 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7 have, when itself run with that Python version.
It then executes uncompiled code and compiled code together in an extremely compatible manner.
You can use all Python library modules and all extension modules freely.
It translates the Python into a C level program that then uses libpython and a few C files of its own to execute in the same way as CPython does. All optimization is aimed at avoiding overhead, where it's unnecessary. None is aimed at removing compatibility, although slight improvements will occasionally be done, where not every bug of standard Python is emulated, e.g. more complete error messages are given, but there is a full compatibility mode to disable even that.
The gcc compiler of at least version 5.1, or the g++ compiler of at least version 4.4 as an alternative.
The clang compiler on macOS X or FreeBSD.
The MinGW64  C11 compiler on Windows, ideally the one based on gcc 6 or higher. The Anaconda compilers  are suitable too, even if you use CPython, they are the easiest installation method.
Visual Studio 2017 or higher on Windows , older versions may work but are not officially supported. Configure to use the English language pack for best results (Nuitka filters away garbage outputs, but only for that language).
On Windows the clang-cl compiler on Windows can be used if provided if you use the CC environment variable to point to it, and you also have MSVC installed.
Nuitka itself is fully compatible with all mentioned versions, Scons as as an internally used tool is not.
For these versions, you need a Python2 or Python 3.5 or higher installed as well, but only during the compile time only. That is for use with Scons (which orchestrates the C compilation), which does not support the same Python versions as Nuitka.
The created binaries can be made executable independent of the Python installation, with --standalone option.
The created binaries have an .exe suffix on Windows. On other platforms they have no suffix for standalone mode, or .bin suffix, that you are free to remove or change, or specify with the -o option.
The suffix for acceleration mode is added just to be sure that the original script name and the binary name do not ever collide, so we can safely do an overwrite without destroying the original source file.
It has to be CPython, Anaconda or Miniconda Python.
You need the standard Python implementation, called "CPython", to execute Nuitka, because it is closely tied to implementation details of it.
On Windows, for Python not installed system-wide and acceleration mode, you need to copy the PythonXX.DLL alongside it, something Nuitka does automatically.
It is known that macOS "pyenv" does not work.
Operating System: Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, macOS X, and Windows (32/64 bits).
Others may work as well. The portability is expected to be generally good, but the e.g. Scons usage may have to be adapted. Make sure to match Windows Python and C compiler architecture, or else you will get cryptic error messages.
Other architectures are expected to also work, out of the box, as Nuitka is generally not using any hardware specifics. These are just the ones tested and known to be good. Feedback is welcome. Generally, the architectures that Debian supports can be considered good and tested too.
 Support for this C11 is a given with gcc 5 or higher or any clang version. The MSVC compiler doesn't do it yet. But as a workaround, as the C++03 language standard is very overlapping with C11, it is then used instead where the C compiler is too old. Nuitka used to require a C++ compiler in the past, but it changed.
 Download MinGW64 from here http://mingw-w64.org/ and choose 64 or 32 bits matching your Python. Use both MinGW64 and 64 bits Python if you have the choice of which Python to use. Install it to C:\MinGW64 or \MinGW64 (same disk root as Nuitka running) to find it automatically. Also, when prompted, use posix for threads and `dwarf for exception model, although these currently do not matter at all.
 Download for free from http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/downloads/download-visual-studio-vs.aspx (the Express editions work just fine). The latest version is recommended if not required. There is no need to use older versions, they might in fact not work.
The recommended way of executing Nuitka is <the_right_python> -m nuitka to be absolutely certain which Python interpreter you are using, so it is easier to match with what Nuitka has.
The next best way of executing Nuitka bare that is from a source checkout or archive, with no environment variable changes, most noteworthy, you do not have to mess with PYTHONPATH at all for Nuitka. You just execute the nuitka and nuitka-run scripts directly without any changes to the environment. You may want to add the bin directory to your PATH for your convenience, but that step is optional.
Moreover, if you want to execute with the right interpreter, in that case, be sure to execute <the_right_python> bin/nuitka and be good.
If you encounter a SyntaxError you absolutely most certainly have picked the wrong interpreter for the program you are compiling.
This option that is different is --run, and passing on arguments after the first non-option to the created binary, so it is somewhat more similar to what plain python will do.
For most systems, there will be packages on the download page of Nuitka. But you can also install it from source code as described above, but also like any other Python program it can be installed via the normal python setup.py install routine.
Nuitka is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0; you may not use it except in compliance with the License.
This is basic steps if you have nothing installed, of course if you have any of the parts, just skip it.
There are more fine grained controls than --follow-imports available. Consider the output of nuitka --help.
If you don't do any dynamic imports, simply setting your PYTHONPATH at compilation time will be sufficient for all your needs normally.
Use --include-plugin-directory only if you make __import__() calls that Nuitka cannot predict, because they e.g. depend on command line parameters. Nuitka also warns about these, and point to the option.
The resulting filename will be program.exe on Windows, program.bin on other platforms.
The resulting binary still depends on CPython and used C extension modules being installed.
If you want to be able to copy it to another machine, use --standalone and copy the created program.dist directory and execute the program.exe (Windows) or program (other platforms) put inside.
The resulting file some_module.so can then be used instead of some_module.py.
It's left as an exercise to the reader, to find out what happens if both are present.
The option --follow-imports and other variants work as well, but the included modules will only become importable after you imported the some_module name.
The recursion into the package directory needs to be provided manually, otherwise, the package is empty. Data files located inside the package will not be embedded yet.
For passing things like -O or -S` to your program, there is a command line option name --python-flag= which makes Nuitka emulate these options.
The most important ones are supported, more can certainly be added.
The C compiler, when invoked with the same input files, will take a long time and much CPU to compile. Make sure you are having ccache installed and configured on non-Windows. It will make repeated compilations much faster, even if things are not yet not perfect, i.e. changes to the program can cause many C files to change, requiring a new compilation instead of using the cached result.
On Windows, Nuitka supports using ccache.exe which is not easy to come by though for the non-MSVC compilers, and clcache.exe which is just one pip install clcache command away. To make Nuitka use those, set either NUITKA_CCACHE_BINARY to the full path of ccache.exe or NUITKA_CLCACHE_BINARY to the full path of clcache.exe, which will be in the scripts folder of the Python, you installed it into.
Avoid running the nuitka binary, doing python -m nuitka will make a 100% sure you are using what you think you are.
The fastest binaries of pystone.exe on Windows with 64 bits Python proved to be significantly faster with MinGW64, roughly 20% better score. So it is recommended for use over MSVC. Using clang-cl.exe of Clang7 was faster than MSVC, but still significantly slower than MinGW64, and it will be harder to use, so it is not recommended.
On Linux for pystone.bin the binary produced by clang6 was faster than gcc-6.3, but not by a significant margin. Since gcc is more often already installed, that is recommended to use for now.
Differences in C compilation times have not yet been examined.
Using the Python DLL, like standard CPython does can lead to unexpected slowdowns, e.g. in uncompiled code that works with Unicode strings. This is because calling to the DLL rather than residing in the DLL causes overhead, and this even happens to the DLL with itself, being slower, than a Python all contained in one binary.
So if feasible, aim at static linking, which is currently only possible with Anaconda Python on non-Windows.
The pefile dependency walker will test all dependencies of the distribution folder.
Be aware that using this switch will increase compilation time a lot.
Remember, this project is not completed yet. Although the CPython test suite works near perfect, there is still more work needed, esp. to make it do more optimization. Try it out.
Please visit the mailing list page in order to subscribe the relatively low volume mailing list. All Nuitka issues can be discussed there. Also, this is the place to stay informed of what's coming.
Nuitka announcements and interesting stuff is pointed to on the Twitter account, but obviously with no details. @KayHayen.
I will not answer Nuitka issues via Twitter though, rather make occasional polls, and give important announcements, as well as low-level posts about development ongoing.
Should you encounter any issues, bugs, or ideas, please visit the Nuitka bug tracker and report them.
Please always include the following information in your report, for the underlying Python version. You can easily copy&paste this into your report.
Try to make your example minimal. That is, try to remove code that does not contribute to the issue as much as possible. Ideally come up with a small reproducing program that illustrates the issue, using print with different results when that programs runs compiled or native.
If the problem occurs spuriously (i.e. not each time), try to set the environment variable PYTHONHASHSEED to 0, disabling hash randomization. If that makes the problem go away, try increasing in steps of 1 to a hash seed value that makes it happen every time, include it in your report.
Do not include the created code in your report. Given proper input, it's redundant, and it's not likely that I will look at it without the ability to change the Python or Nuitka source and re-run it.
Do not send screenshots of text, that is bad and lazy. Instead, capture text outputs from the console.
Consider using this software with caution. Even though many tests are applied before releases, things are potentially breaking. Your feedback and patches to Nuitka are very welcome.
You are more than welcome to join Nuitka development and help to complete the project in all minor and major ways.
This branch contains the stable release to which only hotfixes for bugs will be done. It is supposed to work at all times and is supported.
This branch contains the ongoing development. It may at times contain little regressions, but also new features. On this branch, the integration work is done, whereas new features might be developed on feature branches.
This branch contains unfinished and incomplete work. It is very frequently subject to git rebase and the public staging ground, where my work for develop branch lives first. It is intended for testing only and recommended to base any of your own development on. When updating it, you very often will get merge conflicts. Simply resolve those by doing git reset --hard origin/factory and switch to the latest version.
I accept requests on the social code platforms, also patch files, if they are good.
The Developer Manual explains the coding rules, branching model used, with feature branches and hotfix releases, the Nuitka design and much more. Consider reading it to become a contributor. This document is intended for Nuitka users.
Should you feel that you cannot help Nuitka directly, but still want to support, please consider making a donation and help this way.
The code objects are empty for native compiled functions. There is no bytecode with Nuitka's compiled function objects, so there is no way to provide it.
There is no tracing of compiled functions to attach a debugger to.
The most important form of optimization is the constant folding. This is when an operation can be fully predicted at compile time. Currently, Nuitka does these for some built-ins (but not all yet, somebody to look at this more closely will be very welcome!), and it does it e.g. for binary/unary operations and comparisons.
Literals are the one obvious source of constants, but also most likely other optimization steps like constant propagation or function inlining will be. So this one should not be underestimated and a very important step of successful optimizations. Every option to produce a constant may impact the generated code quality a lot.
The folding of constants is considered implemented, but it might be incomplete in that not all possible cases are caught. Please report it as a bug when you find an operation in Nuitka that has only constants as input and is not folded.
At the core of optimizations, there is an attempt to determine the values of variables at run time and predictions of assignments. It determines if their inputs are constants or of similar values. An expression, e.g. a module variable access, an expensive operation, may be constant across the module of the function scope and then there needs to be none or no repeated module variable look-up.
Consider e.g. the module attribute __name__ which likely is only ever read, so its value could be predicted to a constant string known at compile time. This can then be used as input to the constant folding.
From modules attributes, only __name__ is currently actually optimized. Also possible would be at least __doc__. In the future, this may improve as SSA is expanded to module variables.
except ValueError: # The ValueError is a slow global name lookup normally.
This works for all built-in names. When an assignment is done to such a name, or it's even local, then, of course, it is not done.
For built-in calls like type, len, or range it is often possible to predict the result at compile time, esp. for constant inputs the resulting value often can be precomputed by Nuitka. It can simply determine the result or the raised exception and replace the built-in call with that value, allowing for more constant folding or code path reduction.
type("string") # predictable result, builtin type str.
range(3, 9, 0) # predictable exception, range raises due to 0.
The built-in call prediction is considered implemented. We can simply during compile time emulate the call and use its result or raised exception. But we may not cover all the built-ins there are yet.
Sometimes the result of a built-in should not be predicted when the result is big. A range() call e.g. may give too big values to include the result in the binary. Then it is not done.
This is considered mostly implemented. Please file bugs for built-ins that are pre-computed, but should not be computed by Nuitka at compile time with specific values.
For conditional statements, some branches may not ever be taken, because of the conditions being possible to predict. In these cases, the branch not taken and the condition check is removed.
It will also benefit from constant propagations, or enable them because once some branches have been removed, other things may become more predictable, so this can trigger other optimization to become possible.
Every branch removed makes optimization more likely. With some code branches removed, access patterns may be more friendly. Imagine e.g. that a function is only called in a removed branch. It may be possible to remove it entirely, and that may have other consequences too.
This is considered implemented, but for the maximum benefit, more constants need to be determined at compile time.
For exceptions that are determined at compile time, there is an expression that will simply do raise the exception. These can be propagated upwards, collecting potentially "side effects", i.e. parts of expressions that were executed before it occurred, and still have to be executed.
The (1 / 0) can be predicted to raise a ZeroDivisionError exception, which will be propagated through the + operation. That part is just Constant Propagation as normal.
The call side_effect_having()` will have to be retained though, but the print statement does not and can be turned into an explicit raise. The statement sequence can then be aborted and as such the something_else call needs no code generation or consideration anymore.
To that end, Nuitka works with a special node that raises an exception and is wrapped with a so-called "side_effects" expression, but yet can be used in the code as an expression having a value.
The propagation of exceptions is mostly implemented but needs handling in every kind of operations, and not all of them might do it already. As work progresses or examples arise, the coverage will be extended. Feel free to generate bug reports with non-working examples.
print "Will not be executed"
The try block is bigger than it needs to be. The statement b = 8 cannot cause a ValueError to be raised. As such it can be moved to outside the try without any risk.
This is considered done. For every kind of operation, we trace if it may raise an exception. We do however not track properly yet, what can do a ValueError and what cannot.
raise ValueError, "range() step argument must not be zero"
The loop could be removed, at maximum, it should be considered an assignment of variable i to 999 and no more.
This is not implemented yet, as it requires us to track iterators, and their side effects, as well as loop values, and exit conditions. Too much yet, but we will get there.
The condition check should be removed in this case, as its evaluation is not needed. It may be difficult to predict that side_effect_free has no side effects, but many times this might be possible.
This is considered implemented. The conditional statement nature is removed if both branches are empty, only the condition is evaluated and checked for truth (in cases that could raise an exception).
When the length of the right-hand side of an assignment to a sequence can be predicted, the unpacking can be replaced with multiple assignments.
This is of course only really safe if the left-hand side cannot raise an exception while building the assignment targets.
We do this now, but only for constants, because we currently have no ability to predict if an expression can raise an exception or not.
Not implemented yet. Will need us to see through the unpacking of what is an iteration over a tuple, we created ourselves. We are not there yet, but we will get there.
When a construct like in xrange() or in range() is used, it is possible to know what the iteration does and represent that so that iterator users can use that instead.
could translate xrange(1000) into an object of a special class that does the integer looping more efficiently. In case i is only assigned from there, this could be a nice case for a dedicated class.
Future work, not even started.
Functions are structured so that their parameter parsing and tp_call interface is separate from the actual function code. This way the call can be optimized away. One problem is that the evaluation order can differ.
This will have to evaluate first get1(), then get2() and only then get3() and then make the function call with these values.
Therefore it will be necessary to have a staging of the parameters before making the actual call, to avoid a re-ordering of the calls to get1(), get2(), and get3().
Not even started. A re-formulation that avoids the dictionary to call the function, and instead uses temporary variables appears to be relatively straight forward once we do that kind of parameter analysis.
In some cases, accesses to list constants can become tuple constants instead.
This allows for simpler, faster code to be generated, and fewer checks needed, because e.g. the tuple is clearly immutable, whereas the list needs a check to assert that. This is also possible for sets.
Implemented, even works for non-constants. Needs other optimization to become generally useful, and will itself help other optimization to become possible. This allows us to e.g. only treat iteration over tuples, and not care about sets.
In theory, something similar is also possible for dict. For the later, it will be non-trivial though to maintain the order of execution without temporary values introduced. The same thing is done for pure constants of these types, they change to tuple values when iterated.
Thanks go to these individuals for their much-valued contributions to Nuitka. Contributors have the license to use Nuitka for their own code even if Closed Source.
The order is sorted by time.
Li Xuan Ji: Contributed patches for general portability issue and enhancements to the environment variable settings.
Nicolas Dumazet: Found and fixed reference counting issues, import packages work, improved some of the English and generally made good code contributions all over the place, solved code generation TODOs, did tree building cleanups, core stuff.
Khalid Abu Bakr: Submitted patches for his work to support MinGW and Windows, debugged the issues, and helped me to get cross compile with MinGW from Linux to Windows. This was quite difficult stuff.
Liu Zhenhai: Submitted patches for Windows support, making the inline Scons copy actually work on Windows as well. Also reported import related bugs, and generally helped me make the Windows port more usable through his testing and information.
Christopher Tott: Submitted patches for Windows, and general as well as structural cleanups.
Pete Hunt: Submitted patches for macOS X support.
"ownssh": Submitted patches for built-ins module guarding, and made massive efforts to make high-quality bug reports. Also the initial "standalone" mode implementation was created by him.
Juan Carlos Paco: Submitted cleanup patches, creator of the Nuitka GUI, creator of the Ninja IDE plugin for Nuitka.
"Dr. Equivalent": Submitted the Nuitka Logo.
Johan Holmberg: Submitted patch for Python3 support on macOS X.
Umbra: Submitted patches to make the Windows port more usable, adding user provided application icons, as well as MSVC support for large constants and console applications.
David Cortesi: Submitted patches and test cases to make macOS port more usable, specifically for the Python3 standalone support of Qt.
Andrew Leech: Submitted github pull request to allow using "-m nuitka" to call the compiler. Also pull request to improve "bist_nuitka" and to do the registration.
Paweł K: Submitted github pull request to remove glibc from standalone distribution, saving size and improving robustness considering the various distributions.
Orsiris de Jong: Submitted github pull request to implement the dependency walking with pefile under Windows.
Jorj X. McKie: Submitted github pull requests with NumPy plugin to retain its accelerating libraries, and Tkinter to include the TCL distribution on Windows.
Thanks for giving us CPython, which is the base of Nuitka. We are nothing without it.
Thanks for not only the best compiler suite but also thanks for making it easy supporting to get Nuitka off the ground. Your compiler was the first usable for Nuitka and with very little effort.
Thanks for tackling the difficult points and providing a Python environment to make the build results. This is such a perfect fit to Nuitka and a dependency that will likely remain.
Luckily we can use Valgrind to determine if something is an actual improvement without the noise. And it's also helpful to determine what's actually happening when comparing.
Thanks for hosting the build infrastructure that the Debian and sponsor Yaroslav Halchenko uses to provide packages for all Ubuntu versions.
Thanks for hosting this excellent service that allows us to provide RPMs for a large variety of platforms and make them available immediately nearly at release time.
Thanks for porting the gcc to Windows. This allowed portability of Nuitka with relatively little effort.
Thanks for creating an easy to deploy and use continuous integration framework that also runs on Windows and is written and configured in Python code. This allows running the Nuitka tests long before release time.
Thanks for making nice import ordering so easy. This makes it so easy to let your IDE do it and clean up afterward.
Thanks for making a fast and reliable way for automatically formatting the Nuitka source code.
This document is written in REST. That is an ASCII format which is readable as ASCII, but used to generate PDF or HTML documents.


I remember vividly the times I got to see Mulgrew Miller perform live. If I was lucky I'd be sitting close to the piano, watching waves of concentration ripple over his face, feeling his deep appreciation of the present moment and the infectious joy of making music. This song is named after one of his bands, or maybe it's the other way around.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged jazz, lead sheet, Mulgrew Miller, music, Noteheads, transcription, Wingspan on April 24, 2019 by noteheads.
Here's a pretty James Williams song that I've heard covered by some of the piano players he's influenced.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Alter Ego, James Williams, jazz, lead sheet, music, Noteheads, transcription on April 15, 2019 by noteheads.
This tune by pianist Darrell Grant isn't exactly a blues, but it follows the same road map. The melody is two statements of a phrase, once over the tonic chord and again over a subdominant, followed by responding phrase that passes through the dominant back to the tonic. Extra material in the form of a nice intro and interlude makes for a well-rounded and interesting composition.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Darrell Grant, Gettin Mean with Mateen, jazz, lead sheet, music, Noteheads, transcription on April 7, 2019 by noteheads.
I love the bass playing of Reggie Workman. He is always listening attentively to his bandmates, matching their intensity and prodding them to new heights without stealing the spotlight. On this Freddie Hubbard blues, he gets a short walking feature out front to set up the tempo.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged blues, For Spee's Sake, Freddie Hubbard, jazz, lead sheet, music, Noteheads, transcription on March 30, 2019 by noteheads.
This suspended blues is by pianist Kenny Barron, as recorded by the Sphere quartet. I posted another blues by Charlie Rouse from this album back in October, and I'll probably post a third by Buster Williams soon. I like the way the melody centers around an A natural, which adds some bluesy dissonance when it clashes with the suspended 4ths of the F and Eb chords.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged blues, jazz, kenny barron, lead sheet, music, Noteheads, Saud's Song, transcription on March 23, 2019 by noteheads.
This is one of the previously unheard John Coltrane compositions from last year's much-touted release Both Directions at Once. It's a treat to listen to any collaboration by this great band, even if it sounds more like a 'first draft' than a coherent and polished Trane album.
At first glance, the tune seems very similar to the Benny Golson blues we looked at the last two weeks; it's a fast 12-bar blues in the key of Bb, and features a Gb7sus chord in the turnaround. This time, though, there is no predictable move to F7 in bar 10, so there's no strong tonal resolution. The melody and harmony both avoid the D natural that would put us firmly in the key of Bb major, and the band continues this ambiguity right on into the solos, while Golson's tune switches to a standard major blues for the band to solo over.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged blues, jazz, john coltrane, lead sheet, music, Noteheads, transcription, untitled original 11383 on March 14, 2019 by noteheads.
For this year's "blues March" I think I'll post blueses built on suspended chords, rather than major or minor.
"The Stroller", from Benny Golson's Groovin' with Golson album, starts at a brisk 280 beats per minute, but by the time the band gets to the thick of the solo section it has well surpassed 300bpm. Paul Chambers gives an especially energetic performance, including 9 choruses of arco bass solo that I'll show you next week.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Benny Golson, blues, jazz, lead sheet, music, Noteheads, The Stroller, transcription on March 1, 2019 by noteheads.


text:
Extract > A sample from Nona's Room
A Few Days with the Wahyes-Wahno
Cristina Fernández Cubas
From the short story collection Nona's Room
I had always thought that my aunt and uncle, Valeria and Tristán, were happy and full of fun, but more than anything else they seemed young, really young, although perhaps they were already fifty years old or thereabouts. They were completely different from our parents and our parents' friends. In fact, they were completely different from anyone else. That's why I was extremely surprised that our parents sent my brother and me to stay with them in the mountains for the whole month of August that summer. They said over and over again that we would be able to breathe the pure mountain air, eat fresh eggs and drink goat's milk straight from the goat. But the real surprise wasn't the pure mountain air, the milk or the eggs. It was them. Just them. They were the bizarre, foolish, lackadaisical couple; the happy-go-lucky couple. Out of all the terms our family regularly used to describe their lifestyle the one I liked the best and the one that at the same time intrigued me most was 'happy-go-lucky'. I imagined them in the privacy of their home, in the dining-room, the kitchen, the bedroom, taking bundles of clothes, sheets, tablecloths, throwing them up into the air and letting them fall back down shouting 'Go with the flow!' – the catchphrase of theirs that seemed to encapsulate their happy-go-lucky approach to life. They had an even better time with the pots and pans. Not to mention dancing in the dining-room to music from an old gramophone, waiting for the record to play the last few notes then throwing it up to the ceiling, celebrating when it came back down and stamping on it with delight, with a few signature chants of 'Go with the flow!' thrown in for good measure. I thought this routine could almost have been borrowed from the Frank Capra film my mother always talked about, You Can't Take It with You. Although I had not yet seen it back then, I could quote some scenes almost word for word. Thinking back, it seems strange now that my mother was so fascinated by that black-and-white celluloid home where there were no obligations or rules. It was happy-go-lucky, just like her brother's and sister-in-law's house. Because I wasn't wrong about that. There was complete freedom in Uncle Tristán's and Aunt Valeria's house. Compared with theirs, any other home seemed like a prison or a zoo. That's why we were delighted. Surprised but delighted. And at that time we didn't even know anything about the Wahyes-Wahno.
My aunt and uncle didn't have children because they hadn't wanted any. There was much talk about that in the family. Some people said they were selfish. Others – and my mother was one of those – thought it was better that way, as small defenceless children wouldn't fit into their lifestyle. As for their lifestyle, I never got any clear information about it. They travelled a lot. They were always studying, reading, writing and painting. But was that a bad thing? No one definitively told me that it was, although anyone I asked generally shrugged, shook their heads with a smile or, best of all, with a certain air of superiority came out with words such as 'artists', 'bohemians', 'lazybones', 'feckless' and, of course, 'happy-go-lucky'. Aunt Berta, my father's sister, loved criticizing them more than anyone. But Aunt Berta thought she was perfect. She liked interfering, wouldn't accept any way of life other than her own and came down heavily on any one who dared to contradict her. I hated her, and she knew it. I hated her with good reason, as she had destroyed my Human Races scrapbook with all my drawings and comments. 'This is madness,' she had declared that day to my complete bewilderment. 'You'll have to go to the doctor's.' She was like that. If it were down to her, she would have sent us all to see a psychiatrist at the slightest excuse. But all that had happened at least three years earlier when we had a miserable time staying at her house at the beach. I was ten years old then, almost eleven. It was summertime, too, just like now. Today, however, we were happy on the coach, feeling the strange sensation of the pressure change blocking our ears as we climbed; our faces glued to the windows watching rivers with clear blue water, pine forests, stone houses with slate roofs go past. We had seen all this before only on postcards or in magazines. When we got to the last village on the route we saw our aunt and uncle sitting outside the bar in the square. They ran over, helped us down and took charge of our suitcases. I think even then they said 'Wahyes, Wahyes' when they greeted us. But my brother and I were so happy that neither of us noticed.
Outside, everything smelled of manure, chickens and goats, just like we'd been told it would, but inside the house it didn't. As soon as we went in I caught my brother with his nose in the air, sniffing like a bloodhound. I didn't tell him off because I was doing exactly the same, albeit more discreetly. There was a strong smell. I couldn't say whether it was pleasant or quite the opposite. It was a mixture of paint, cake, chocolate, wine, perfume and perhaps incense like you get in a church. I would find out later that one of Valeria's hobbies was creating different scents and that some came out well and others were not so successful. But that day, when I still knew hardly anything at all, what I noticed more than anything was the kitchen. It was enormous and full of pipes and test-tubes, just like the kind of magician's laboratory you see in films. And we liked it. We both did. It was all very different from what we'd known up to then. Beginning with them, our aunt and uncle. It was the first time we had been on our own with them without being under the watchful gaze of the rest of the family, and the long summer that stretched ahead of us seemed filled with promise. They put us in the same room. It was an enormous bedroom, and while Valeria was handing out sheets and towels Tristán asked me discreetly, 'How's your father? Is he any better?'
I shook my head. He was ill, seriously ill and needed peace and quiet. That was why the dining-room at home had been turned into his bedroom, and it was also why they'd decided that the best thing for everyone would be for Pedrito and me to spend the month of August with them.
'Why not Berta's house?' My uncle didn't beat around the bush, and I liked that, too. He was frank and direct, and he was surprised, just like us. I shrugged.
'Mum said that pure mountain air, fresh eggs, goat's milk …' Tristán began to roar with laughter, which made him seem even younger. Perhaps that's why I started telling him about my differences with Aunt Berta, how much I hated her. Because I'd never forgotten that morning in her house overlooking the sea when I'd decided not to go to the beach and had stayed in the garden inventing different races. It hadn't occurred to me that this might be a bad thing to do. And I was still sure that it wasn't.
So I looked at Tristán and began at the beginning.
I told him that a school friend had a scrapbook and that every week she put new stickers in it. They were coloured stickers that showed men and women from far-off places, with gigantic earrings in their ears or rings in their noses or lips. There were black people, brown people, yellow people and white people, too. Some of them wore their hair in plaits, while others had hair that was all tousled and a few had shaved their heads, some just a bit and others completely. Their very different and very strange customs were explained in comments beneath the stickers and sometimes along the side. I wanted a collection like that as well, but the people who ran the village stationer's didn't know anything about scrapbooks or stickers – or at least not those ones. So I decided to make my own. I bought card, paper, crayons and started my own collection: Human Races. I spent the whole morning working at it. I invented people, tribes, names and, in particular, customs, very strange customs like the ones in my friend's scrapbook. That's what I was doing when Aunt Berta appeared.
Tristán looked interested as he was listening to me, and I carried on telling him how at first Aunt Berta was just looking over my shoulder to see what I was doing. Just at first. I was getting angrier and angrier as I was recalling it all. But now, years afterwards, as I rekindle the memory, I'm grateful rather than angry. Because if Aunt Berta hadn't crumpled up and spoiled my scrapbook, if she hadn't told me off as she did talking about doctors and crazy games, I wouldn't have told Tristán anything about my collection of races. And probably he would never have decided to let us into his secret world. All he said back then was 'A natural anthropologist.' I detected a hint of pride in his voice and tried to remember exactly what 'anthropologist' meant. I thought I knew, but I wasn't sure.
'And your Aunt Berta wouldn't have liked that at all,' he said a little while later rather mysteriously.
That night, after dinner, Valeria asked Pedrito if he'd like a glass of milk. To my surprise he said yes enthusiastically. But Valeria didn't disappear in search of a goat to milk in front of him as my brother was clearly expecting. Instead, she opened the fridge and handed him an ordinary carton very similar to the ones we had at home. Then, not even noticing his disappointment, she tied up her long dark hair in a plait, adjusted her apron, forgot all about us and began dissolving some powder in a salad bowl and crushing herbs in a pestle and mortar. Almost at the same time Tristán cleared the table, unfolded an enormous map and pinned the edges down with whatever he could find in the cupboard: an old iron, a broken jar, a stone and an earthenware teapot. My brother and I looked at each other in confusion. Should we say goodnight and go to bed? Could we stay with them in the kitchen a little longer? The situation was new for us, and I understand now that it wasn't too clear for them either. They weren't used to dealing with kids or teenagers. Perhaps, for them, nine-year-old Pedrito and me, at almost fourteen, were exactly the same. But if they were ever in any doubt they quickly got over it, and, apart from the glass of milk for my brother every night that my mother must have insisted on, they treated us as equals, as adults or friends, which had never happened to either of us before.
'Well,' said Tristán once he had the map securely pinned down, 'have you ever heard of the Wahyes-Wahno?' We shook our heads but realized that we were being invited to take part in the event of the evening.
'I'm not surprised. In fact, if you'd said yes I wouldn't have believed you. But let's begin at the beginning so that we all know where we are. As you know, I'm your uncle, your much-loved mother's only brother, and the incomparable Valeria is my wife.' Valeria acknowledged this with a nod but didn't take her eyes off the mortar. 'And I'm an anthropologist, apart from being an expert in many other fields that are not relevant here but of which you may be aware: an artist, a lazybones, a bohemian and a feckless fool.' 'Go with the flow!' shouted Pedrito enthusiastically, and for all I was worth I wanted the ground to swallow me up.
'That as well. How could I forget? Thanks for reminding me, Pedrito. That's a good name for our house. "Go with the flow!" What do you think, Valeria?'
Valeria smiled and nodded. She was completely absorbed in her work with the pestle and mortar, as if it were the most important thing in the world. She had got into a regular rhythm that was almost musical. It was like an accompaniment that slightly muffled what Tristán was saying but which now, during these pauses, took on its own unexpected role. It was nice to listen to and lose yourself in its music as the kitchen began to fill up with an aroma of earth, grass, leaves and meadows after rain. There was another smell, too, that I couldn't quite place, but it seemed to me that it was struggling to make its presence felt and to spiral up among all the other aromas. To overcome them.
'Let's get back to where we were.' It was Tristán's voice again, and Valeria's music faded into the background. 'As we're among friends and not at a conference or in court, I'll spare you the preliminaries. But just so you know, although it's not strictly necessary, it's common practice these days before presenting a hypothesis to spend a few minutes annihilating all the other hypotheses bearing the slightest resemblance to one's own that any colleague might have dared to touch upon.'
He looked at me as if he were talking to an equal. As if I were a future anthropologist. So I nodded like I understood. I couldn't disappoint him.
'All I will say is that, in principle, we should not give the slightest credence to any hypothetical study about the Wahyes-Wahno or to the alleged photographs taken with powerful zoom lenses or to the news of sightings of their settlements at inconceivable distances. We are all aware of this. It's easy to confuse wishful thinking with reality.'
He stopped, and the rhythm of Valeria's pestle and mortar and the smell of damp earth took over the kitchen once again. Tristán was tracing the vast areas of green on the map with his index finger and murmuring wistfully 'Amazonia, Amazonia'. I watched him closely, not worrying whether my ignorance would show on my face or bothering to pretend to understand. I was completely absorbed in the massive area spread out in front of me on the table.
Suddenly, as if I were looking at it through a powerful magnifying glass, it took on every conceivable shade of green: olive, emerald, turquoise, mint and lime. And then, as if I were beginning to dream or beginning, delightfully and drowsily, to fall asleep, Tristán's voice took possession of my body. There was nothing else in the kitchen apart from his voice, strong and measured.
'Wishful thinking and reality,' he said again. 'It's so easy to confuse them. It's even easier to confuse them in the jungle in the tropics when you're in the grip of drowsiness, feverish sleepiness or those disturbing dreams you often get in those places when the past, the present and the future merge into one and which seem so real and confuse us so much that when we wake up we usually take hours or even days to realize and accept who we are. Because as long as the dream lasts', he continued looking at me straight in the eyes, 'people could turn into their own parents or their own children or into indigenous people like the Cashibo-Kakataibo, the Yanomami or the Awá, to give you some examples. They could also speak, sing and whistle in the language of the Pirahas. What's even more amazing is that they could listen to and remember the final words of the last Pacahuara in the world.' Tristán stopped there, and I took a deep breath as well. I could not remember ever having paid so much attention to anyone before.
'That's one of the loveliest dreams. It's a privilege and a great honour for any one of us. The Pacahuara lying on his rush mat is looking at us, full of emotion. He knows he's about to die and that there's no cure to keep him alive. He also knows that on his death his language, or the little he remembers of what his language once was, will disappear. His language was corrupted in the first place by other more powerful people then forgotten as he was the last of his kind and had no one to talk to. But at that awful moment, on his deathbed, if the Pacahuara is a man, he remembers his parents and grandparents; the stories he was told as a child; his first bow and arrow; the silvery reflections of the fish he used to catch with a spear in those far-off days. Or, if the Pacahuara is a woman, she remembers washing clothes in the river; the songs she used to sing as she crushed sweet potatoes in a bowl; the pain of childbirth; the names of people who had disappeared; the times when she wasn't alone and she could still use and listen to words that after being forgotten for years were now suddenly and vividly returning to her mind. Because that's what the last Pacahuara dreams about, irrespective of whether he is a man or she is a woman. Past memories are recovered, and recent memories are wiped away. He points at whoever he's dreaming about, takes him by the hand and, making an enormous effort, tells him his final words, which will also be, as both he and the person he's talking to are aware, the last words ever spoken in his language.'
As he was talking I was filling that vast green territory with the people he was describing. And I could feel what they were feeling. The emotion of an anthropologist, explorer or traveller who at that time knows he is unique. He hasn't understood a single word of what the dying person has said, whether he's just expressed his last wishes, made a pronouncement or merely uttered some downright nonsense or some words that don't make the least bit of sense. But he's now received a message that no one will ever be able to decipher, and he's the sole protagonist of a historic moment. The sound of the dying man's words will accompany him for days and days (and he will constantly repeat them so as not to forget them) until another anthropologist, explorer or traveller tells him he had a similar meeting. The last words of the last Pacahuara, whether a man or a woman. The precious legacy of a dead language. The unforgettable cadence of those mysterious words that he has been able to retain in his mind to pass on to posterity. And that's where everything begins to unravel. What the second anthropologist, explorer or traveller remembers by heart and is ready to communicate, bursting with emotion, is nothing like the words, sound and cadence that the first anthropologist, explorer or traveller has chiselled into his brain.
'And after that portentous moment,' concluded Tristán, 'without any need for words both of them will understand: it's all down to the drowsiness induced by the climate; wish-fulfilment; tricks that the jungle plays; dreams.'
Pedrito nodded off on the table, and almost at the same time the glass mortar that Valeria was using exploded and fell on the floor. Or perhaps it fell on the floor first and then exploded into thousands of pieces. What's certain is that a strong whiff took over the kitchen. I recognized the smell of grass, rain, damp ground, leaves, but I also detected the emanation that was struggling against the rest and that had finally won. Now I knew what it reminded me of: stagnant water, rotten fruit, mouldy food. I thought something awful was about to happen, that Tristán would get cross with his wife or that Valeria would apologize profusely for the disaster. I was silly to think like that, but I was remembering the commotion at home when Pedrito spilled a glass of water on the table or got drops of sauce or soup on the tablecloth. But my aunt's and uncle's life was nothing like ours. Tristán was really pleased, even thrilled, and Valeria, still smiling, squatted down to separate all the pieces of glass carefully so that she could recover the strong smelling paste and put it in a test-tube.
'You've really nailed it today!' said Tristán. 'If I close my eyes I can imagine I'm still there.' Valeria rubbed a bit of the paste on her temples and also on her wrists. She was radiant. I kneeled down and wrapped up a few lumps in a paper napkin.
'How fantastic!' said Tristán.
When I got to our room I wrote down some names in a notebook so that I wouldn't forget them: Yanomami; Awá; Pacahuara; Wahyes-Wahno. I put a line under Pacahuara as they'd been the evening's protagonists and put a question mark beside Wahyes-Wahno, as all I knew about them was that no one knew anything about them. Pedrito was sleeping deeply, and I could hear laughter and the odd word, which soon turned into murmurs and moans coming from my aunt's and uncle's room. I had seen lots of films and was old enough to understand what was going on. I covered my ears with a handkerchief and smeared the little bit of paste I had in the napkin on my forehead. It smelled awful, but I wanted to be like my aunt and uncle. I'd get used to it. If they liked that smell, then I would, too.
My aunt and uncle always wandered around the house barefoot and did their exercises naked every morning. Then they got dressed for breakfast. I thought they got dressed because of us, so that Pedrito wouldn't think of telling Mum and she wouldn't regret having sent us to stay with her brother. Mum phoned every evening before dinner. Tristán would tell her that everything was fine and would ask her 'Any news from the palace?' It was his way of finding out how Dad was without upsetting us. Then he sent her lots of love and handed the phone over to us. I would say, 'Everything's fine', and Pedrito would tell her all sorts of things: that he always drank his glass of milk; that he had swum in a very cold river; or that when he grew up he wanted to be a savage. Then Mum would burst out laughing and everyone was happy. The telephone was the only way to communicate with the world we had left behind. It was almost an antique and was positioned exactly halfway down the corridor, and when someone phoned you could hear their voice anywhere in the house as if the radio was on. But we didn't have a radio. My aunt and uncle liked listening to the wind, the rain, the cicadas, the neighbours' hens or the goats bleating as they came down the mountain every evening.
Sometimes Valeria used to sing, and she sang beautifully. She sang songs without any words – at least without any words that I could understand. She shouted, laughed, and it sometimes sounded as if she were crying. Tristán told us very quietly that she'd once been an actress and that she sometimes liked to remind herself of that. I would have liked to have asked her about lots of things – her life as an actress, for example, or their travels or where and when they'd met – but I didn't want them to think I was being too inquisitive, so I kept quiet. I don't know if I did the right thing. I still wonder about that years later. What's true is that many of the things that perplexed me at the time became clear all on their own. The supermarket, for example. At the beginning I thought it was strange that my aunt and uncle, who loved the pure mountain air, rivers, goats and hens, in short, nature itself, didn't buy their eggs, cheese or milk from their neighbours in the village and instead once a week got their van out of the garage and drove for at least twenty kilometres to a larger village that had a supermarket. Perhaps the products were almost as good, I thought at first. They were from the same region after all. Then I understood that my aunt and uncle simply wanted to keep their distance from the other people in their village. They certainly greeted everyone, and we sometimes went to the only bar in the square to have something to drink and wait for the last coach of the day. Just like all the other villagers, we liked counting the number of passengers arriving and the number of passengers leaving, making predictions, placing bets and arguing with the other tables about the possible rules of the game. Was a baby worth the same as an adult? How much was a cage of hens worth? The same as a dog or less? And how come there had never been a draw? There was even one afternoon when Tristán delightedly took the place of a domino player and won a few games. But while we were there no one from the village ever came to the house or came to visit us for any reason. There was clearly something about our aunt's and uncle's behaviour that made everyone else respect their privacy. They were friendly, polite and kind, but it went no further than that. Pedrito and I were aware of it and felt that we were privileged. Just like the last Pacahuara from the first night – more to the point, just like the anthropologist, explorer or traveller who was honoured or lucky enough to dream about the Pacahuara's last words in the jungle.
That's why, on our second night after dinner, I plucked up the courage to remind them, 'We were talking about the last Pacahuara, about the dreams.'
I had pronounced 'Pacahuara' as if I were used to it and without stumbling, certain that they would be proud of my memory and diction. But Tristán didn't seem astonished in the slightest. Valeria wasn't either. A few minutes later, however, my uncle once again unfolded the map awash with shades of green and Valeria began crushing garlic and seeds in a stone mortar. 'The music will be very different today,' she said….
Want to know how this story ends?
Want more like it?
Order a copy of Nona's Room by Cristina Fernández Cubas here.
This extract is from the short story 'A Few Days with the Wahyes-Wahno' by Cristina Fernández Cubas, which appears in her award-winning collection entitled Nona's Room, part of the Peter Owen World Series: Spain.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If in the dream a skull seems in the form of a death's-head with crossed bones under it, this can be a romantic picture for a pirate or a symbol for danger. Because the skull stands for the head, he can also symbolise intellectual abilities or her absence.
Feels of the dreaming in his dream his own skull, this is called that to him is aware how he has structured his life. If the dreaming sees a skull where a head should be, this points to the fact that a part of the person has 'died'. If the dreaming with a skull speaks, this expresses the need to talk with those people whom he has lost. If a skull with him speaks, becomes a personality portion of the dreaming whom he has rejected or has denied, awake again to the life.
At the spiritual level the skull in the dream embodies the death and everything what is connected with him.
Dreaming somebody, he eats a Schafschädel, he will live delightfully and in joys. If it is a human head, he will cheat his head and to him badly join in, presumably to themselves also at his place put.
Seeming it one, one brings him heads of Schafböcken, he will take over goats, to deer or other horned animals, a high office and take into custody so many ruling heads as heads were brought him in the dream. However, this face can look only the Pharaoh or his deputy.
Dreaming a pauper or my husband, he shops or finds a head, he will win ten, hundred or thousand golden coins.
dead person's skull: Luck and profit chances, - also: Sends a reminder to the honesty and sober consideration of the realities. Then the success will not be missing with enterprises.
hit: you will have to pay big teaching money.
see the own: one is pursued by pangs of conscience.
Eating somebody a cooked Schafschädel, he will earn big profits of 1-man-high state, however, it will cost him to Striving and work, - is roasted of the Schafschädel, he will fight against his enemy to bring his having and Well in himself, and defeat him, - nevertheless, he will take in his having and property no unmixed pleasure because the skull about the fire was roasted.
Eating somebody a skull in raw state, he will become treacly rich around the price of loud sins.


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Female filmmakers in the spotlight at HotDocs
The stories at the 2018 Hot Docs festival are surprising, emotional, funny, sad, enraging and inspiring. This year, half of the directors telling them are women
Tue May 08 2018 00:00:00 GMT-0400
The stories at the 2018 Hot Docs festival are surprising, emotional, funny, sad, enraging and inspiring. And this year, for the first time, half of the directors telling them are women.
Shane Smith, director of programming for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, which opens in Toronto on April 26, says the festival wasn't forcing itself to achieve this milestone. It was simply looking for the best, most intriguing films for their diverse audience.
"I think it's important to reflect your audience and reflect the films that are being made and stories that are being told. More than half of our audience are female, so we want to make sure that we are serving our audience, but also that we are supporting new voices and interesting, well-told stories," says Smith.
With documentaries from 56 countries around the world, the festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Scotia Wealth Management is proud to be a presenting platinum partner of the festival, which shares stories that help expand people's views of the world. At this year's festival, there is a theme of female empowerment threaded through many of the docs.
"We knew, going into the festival, that given the kind of year that was happening and what was going on in the zeitgeist, that it was important that we find ways to focus on female stories," says Smith. "We were really happy that we saw so much great work by female filmmakers this year and that we were able to make so much room in the festival to have those stories be told."
Smith says new funding initiatives from groups like the National Film Board and Telefilm are starting to pay off in great work by female filmmakers, adding that there is long, strong history of great female documentary filmmakers. "I think in the documentary world there have always been more female voices and room for female voices. Progress has been happening for a while, but there is a really important cultural moment right now."
We asked Smith to suggest some of the leading documentaries by female filmmakers at this year's festival.
1. The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution, by Canadian director Maya Gallus
The festival's opening film tells the stories of top female chefs in Toronto, New York, London and France.
"This film is a great way to open the festival. It's a deep dive into lives of women who are running their own kitchens in their own restaurants; their approach to what they do, the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and how they are breaking new ground and forging new paths for other women to follow."
Watch video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJNjF65tBF4
2. On Her Shoulders , by Alexandra Bombach
The film focuses on the life of Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman captured by ISIS soldiers, who escaped and has become an international spokesperson for the horrors faced by the Yazidi community.
"Nadia Murad's story is incredibly traumatic and part of the film focuses on what it is like to have to relive your trauma. You are recounting your story to bring awareness to the issue. It is a really fascinating perspective on what happens when your activism and your story become your work and how that impacts you."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi7QjCz0sxshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi7QjCz0sxs
3. Grit by Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander
In 2006, a mud volcano erupted in the Indonesian province of East Java, unleashing flowing mud and bubbling gases, destroying a nearby community, killing 20 people and displacing almost 40,000 people. A majority of geologists have linked the eruption to nearby exploratory drilling for natural gas, but residents have struggled to win compensation for their losses. This film shares the story and development of a young female activist as she becomes an advocate for the rights of her people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5V4UsdCEiE
4. Netizens by Cynthia Lowen
Award-winning director Cynthia Lowen profiles women who have been the targets of online harassment and how they have fought against it. This film is part of Big Ideas presented by Scotia Wealth Management, where directors and subjects of documentaries will join in-depth panels to discuss the works.
"That is definitely going to be a conversation-starter, to look at the online harassment of women, how deep it goes, how traumatizing it is and how women are fighting back. The amazing subjects from that film will be up here for the screening, including powerhouse lawyer Carrie Goldberg, who has devoted her practice to taking on these types of cases of online harassment. She will be here along with Anita Sarkeesian, who came to attention when she was being trolled by men in the whole "Gamergate" affair. The lived experience that these women share in dealing with this issue is going to make for some powerful on-stage conversation."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_1YMNwf_Tk
5. Whispering Truth to Power by Shameela Seedat
This powerful film from South African follows the story of Thuli Madonsela. In her government role of Public Protector, she faced incredibly intense struggle in her investigation of then President of South Africa Jacob Zuma.
"This is a story of how this one woman is fighting against the most powerful leader in the country and his supporters. The film has a real impact as we realize how fake news and rumours don't just happen in North America, but is part of the political culture in so many countries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y5TEGKa_u4
Announcing the 2020 Scotiabank Photography Award longlist
See work from this year's nominated artists, who represent the best in Canadian contemporary photography.
Scotiabank Photography Award win both an honour and responsibility for photographer Stephen Waddell
2019 New Generation Photography Award Winner Virtual Gallery
Check out this virtual gallery of the 2019 New Generation Photography Award winners


A $22 million, 50,000-square-foot, regional operations center for the electric grid recently opened in West Little Rock, Arkansas. The operation center, run by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, better known as MISO, will control part of a 15-state region stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Manitoba, Canada.
System Operators at MISO's control center in Little Rock will ensure delivery of reliable least-cost energy to wholesale energy customers in the company's South region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Texas. The company's initial set of approximately 42 employees are primarily experts in engineering and technology.
The control center works in tandem with a similar facility in Carmel, Ind., outside of Indianapolis, and a third facility in Eagan, Minn., near Minneapolis. Employees at all three MISO locations work together in real-time operations, market operations, customer services, government and regulatory affairs, information technology and administrative support.
"We'd like to thank the City of Little Rock, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and our regulators in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the City of New Orleans and Texas who helped make today possible," continued Bear.
MISO began establishing roots in Little Rock starting in 2013 when the decision was first made to establish a southern presence. The organization selected Little Rock primarily due to its existing knowledge base with a strong understanding of transmission planning and engineering.
MISO broke ground on the command center in March 2014, and expects an employee move-in date scheduled in spring of 2015.


text:
Q: Ports are not available: listen tcp 0.0.0.0/50070: bind: An attempt was made to access a socket in a way forbidden by its access permissions I am trying to start a docker container with the below command.
docker run -it -p 50070:50070 -p 8088:8088 -p 8080:8080 suhothayan/hadoop-spark-pig-hive:2.9.2 bash

It ended up with the following error.

docker: error response from daemon: Ports are not available: listen tcp 0.0.0.0/50070: bind: An attempt was made to access a socket in a way forbidden by its access permissions.

As I understand, the error has occurred as the port 50070 is used by another process. I've tried to identify the process in order to kill that with the below command in the command prompt, but it does not give an output nor an error.
netstat -ano | findstr :50080

A: Restarting winnat is not a good idea. The root cause is that some ports of Windows are dynamically reserved, even though they are not occupied. This command can be used to solve.
netsh int ipv4 set dynamic tcp start=49152 num=16384
netsh int ipv6 set dynamic tcp start=49152 num=16384

This article explains it in detail, and I recommend taking a look at it:
Completely solve the problem of docker containers running on Windows 10 due to port binding

A: I did this to stop tcp processes =>

*

*net stop winnat

*net start winnat

In this way, the busy port operation is terminated.
This worked for me.

A: As per Docker issue for windows https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues/3171 :
You might have that port in any of the excluded port ranges of command netsh interface ipv4 show excludedportrange protocol=tcp
You can use solution mentioned in the above ticket.

*

*Disable hyper-v (which will required a couple of restarts)
dism.exe /Online /Disable-Feature:Microsoft-Hyper-V

*After finishing all the required restarts, reserve the port you want so hyper-v doesn't reserve it back
netsh int ipv4 add excludedportrange protocol=tcp startport=50070 numberofports=1

*Re-Enable hyper-V (which will require a couple of restart)
dism.exe /Online /Enable-Feature:Microsoft-Hyper-V /All

A: I faced with this situation when my VPN connection is active.
you can temporarily disconnect your VPN connection, after that start your docker container, and go back and connect to your VPN again

A: This solution helped me:
net stop winnat
docker start container_name
net start winnat

A: On my local machine had similar issue with Docker Desktop and integration enabled with Debian/Ubuntu set as default distro (WSL2 as standard to all). How I solved:

*

*Docker settings disabled "Start Docker Desktop when you log in"

*Restarting Windows

*First starting Debian/Ubuntu

*Then start Docker Desktop

A: *

*run net stop winnat

*If you use docker desktop, just run the container. Otherwise run this command in command prompt: docker start <container_name>

*run net start winnat

A: Try restarting "Host Network Service"

A: This is often caused by the Windows NAT Driver (winnat), stopping and restarting that service may resolve the issue.
open shell as administrator, and types those commands:

*

*net stop winnat.

*docker start ...

*net start winnat

A: ***net stop winnat
docker start container_name
net start winnat***

writing this in cmd worked well for me, thank you so much commentators for the solution.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


ARE YOUR CELLS GETTING ENOUGH GLUCOSE?
During in-vitro cell culture, it is important that the culture environment mimic the chosen cell line's original in-vivo environment for it to grow and propagate. Glucose, being the main source of energy for heterotrophic cells, is one of the parameters that should be carefully monitored during the culturing process.
Wrong glucose concentration in the culture environment might have unwanted results on the cells being cultured. If there is a lack of glucose concentration in the culture medium, the cells will not have enough energy to properly grow and propagate. On the other hand, too much glucose within the culture media would subject the cells to a diabetic-like environment which could have detrimental effects such as glyoxidation and glycation.
Glucose concentration monitoring is also vital for determining cell growth and proliferation using metabolic analytical techniques. One of the most common technique is in the use of a glucose curve. By plotting glucose concentration versus the length of time of the culture (usually in days), cell density can be approximated by the rate of glucose consumption within the culture environment.
Without the use of such analytical techniques, sampling techniques are required in order to check cell growth and density during the culture process which is both labor intensive and time consuming. In addition, cell death due to lack of glucose cannot be immediately determined using sampling techniques.
The challenge of having the correct glucose concentration during cell culture is having the proper tools and equipment to measure it. As can be seen from Fig. 1, estimating glucose concentration relative to a timeline is a very poor measurement technique as glucose curves tend to be non-linear.
Glucose concentration in media is traditionally measured using wet chemistry which not only requires a lot of preparation but is also open to contamination. Automated chemical analyzers have also been developed for laboratory purposes but they are relatively expensive and bulky, making them impractical to most laboratories. Human blood glucose monitor has also been studied upon as a low-cost alternative to expensive chemical analyzers but due to the difference of chemical compositions of the human blood and culture media, the results from these devices are unreliable.
GlucCell® is a low-cost glucose monitoring system specially designed to facilitate the measurement of glucose. It is intended for use by laboratory researchers and bioprocessing professionals to obtain a quantitative measurement of glucose specifically in cell culture applications.
GlucCell® Glucose Monitoring System is a combination of glucose biosensor technology with microprocessor-based instrumentation. The glucose measurement is based on the oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase enzyme.


text:
Life in the Tent: In the Name of the Almighty
Publisher / June 27, 2021
V. Krishna Kumar, PhD
kkumar@wcupa.edu
A Review of TV series Resurrection Ertuğrul. Language: Turkish (close-captioned in English), Director Metin Güney
A five-season 448-episode (about 45 minutes each) gripping Netflix TV series has plenty of unpredictable twists and turns and cliffhangers that test your willpower for not using your thumb to press "next episode" to continue binge-watching even if it is past midnight. The producers of the series claim, "stories and characters depicted here were inspired by our [Turkish] history." The stories revolve around the legendary Ertuğrul and his trials and tribulations in resurrecting a nation-state based on Islamic ideals of inclusiveness, freedom of worship, equality, justice, and freedom from oppression.
The series depict the religious, personal and territorial ambitions, and conflicts of Muslims, Knights Templars (crusaders), the Byzantine Christians, and the Mongols, with heroes, whack-a-mole villains (whose demeanor, and eyes and facial expressions fit their roles), spies, and renegades engaging in heroic battles, deception, and treachery leading to mutual destruction of people and property. Ambitions divide kith and kin and unite them momentarily when facing a common enemy. A prominent strategy employed by those jockeying for power was to divide and conquer. The disclaimer "no animals were harmed during the filming of this production" stands in stark contrast to the number of graphic blood-spilling scenes which depict peoples' heads severed when punishing a captive individual or their throats slashed in sword/dagger fights. Prisoners are shown tethered to poles/trees for extracting information or confessions by torturing them with merciless threats and beatings, their heads repeatedly dunked in water, and eyes and parts of chest burned with red-hot iron rods heated in smoldering coals. In one instance, a villainous character from a neighboring tribe tortures Ertuğrul's nephew for information and kills him, and then shows up to offer condolences to Ertuğrul making promises of support in avenging the killer. The renegade dead are shown publicly shamed by being tethered to a pole in full view of the community as a lesson to anyone conspiring with the enemy. Sometimes the severed heads of spies/prominent commanders are hung on a rope for public shaming and/or sent as gifts to their chiefs.
The depicted graphic violence may be enough to cause nightmares and trauma in young and old viewers alike or make them immune to violence. People holding power in conflicting entities seem almost always restless to go to war for their causes while their constituents long for peace. Setting traps is a common strategy employed to expose renegades and/or capture/kill the enemy. Martyrdom is a holy sacrifice. The Muslims delight in killing the oppressors (Mongols, Knights Templars, Byzantine Christians), often referred to as "non-Muslims" or "infidels" or "heathens." The Knights Templars and Byzantine Christians seem equally delighted in killing Muslims (referred to as "sheepherders," or "the barbaric Turks") to get them out of their way to establish the supremacy of their religion. Likewise, the Mongols, believers in the Tengri and shamanism, express pleasure in killing, set fire to an entire community, and/or plunder to prove their might. Dialogues among characters often reek of hostilities, threats of revenge, and arrogance of status/ invincibility, with well-acted facial expressions.
Life in the tents of the nomadic tribes is depicted colorfully. We see their beautiful tents with exquisite rugs, women with their colorful clothing and ornamental head coverings, poetic tender exchanges between lovers/family members, playful banter among prominent alps (soldiers), and engagement/wedding ceremonies with feasts, music, dancing by alps, and of course, funerals. You also see men and women armed with swords and daggers while sitting down for family or elaborate communal meals. You see their women's skill in weaving and dyeing fabric and rugs, but when they show them engaged in their craft, it is often accompanied with a bitter dialogue between some sharp-tongued prominent women trying to drill sense into each other's head, threatening or accusing each other, or conspiring, and yet another eavesdropping woman lurking a few yards away, ready to pass on information to someone who could benefit from it to seek revenge. The tent walls are too thin to prevent eavesdropping, stealing, or hiding easily discoverable items to frame someone for theft. The prominent tribal and Christian women are depicted as strong, courageous, ready for martyrdom, and skilled in the art of warfare with words, weapons, and deception, and some also skilled in extracting poison from scorpions/spiders/snakes/herbs and deploying it to wipe out an unsuspecting adversary by mixing it in their sherbet at dinner time or lacing a letter sent with a messenger.
The series glorify the thrill of conquering for religious righteousness by might and martyrdom. The obsessive belief in their versions of the dictates of the Almighty is the driving force in the everyday lives and self-righteous battles raged by the different groups.
Have the times changed? The belief in the superiority of one's version of the Almighty continues to inspire everyday politics internationally and some incidents of domestic and international terrorism. The belief in "justified killing" is still prevalent in the modern-day world, although not always motivated by religious beliefs. Governments of countries continue to arm themselves with a deadly arsenal that can kill without contact and parade their streets with displays of tanks and ballistic missiles. Mercenary individuals are ready to volunteer to follow orders to battle anywhere or engage in terrorism for causes they do not fully care to understand. An African proverb says it well "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers." (as noted by Black, 2021, p A 16).
Black, H. A. (February 12, 2021). When those big elephants fight, look out below. In Letters to the Editor, Wall Street Journal, p. A 16.
June 27, 2021 in Film/TV Review. Tags: Summer 2021
Jack Ryan? Yes. Tom Clancy's? Eh
The Traumatic Impact of Media Misrepresentation & Public Shaming
← An Insight Into Extraordinary Minds
Diversity and Representation on Preschool Television Shows →


the process and helps you takes creative risks.
he is constantly learning and growing as an artist. What a great challenge!
I think that I would love to follow in his footsteps, in this regard.
pressure off of myself and allows me to relax and just enjoy the process.
Maybe, just maybe I will create something that evokes beauty of some kind.
Al creates a lot of painted fabrics for his art quilts.
together and create your layout.
enough to try it again.
look entirely different when it is totally finished as well.
3 of your favorite fabrics plus a few others.
I have been wanting to make a blue and white art quilt for a while.
really like this art quilt as well.
enough to help me with the color choices and the layout.
Quilt Guild last week, I won this book. Isn't that crazy?
like this is the route I am taking right now.
Have a good week and check out Needle and Thread Network.
Wow! Love your blue and white quilt – stunning! The classes sound fabulous!


This mysterious production, directed by Robert Ivey, will be at The Footlight Players from January 30- February 15. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students and can be purchased online or at 843-722-4487.
As the play begins, Tobi is visited in his apartment by a married couple from Seattle, Mike and Lisa, who have come to interview him for Lisa's dissertation on the dance scene in the 1950s and '60s, when Tobi enjoyed his brief heyday. Lisa eagerly asks him questions about the past, and the ever-chatty and clearly lonely Tobi responds with a torrent of anecdotes punctuated by humorous comments and asides.
The taciturn Mike, a cop who clearly has little interest in the arts, mainly observes. But when he starts interjecting hostile, pointed questions about a particular period in Tobi's life, it soon becomes clear that the purpose of the couple's visit has to do with more than scholarly research.
Plays show Friday and Saturday, January 30, 31, and February 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 (Thursday through Saturday) at 8 p.m. and February 1 an 15 at 3:00pm. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 seniors, and $15 students.


text:
Q: List all viewflow processes the user is allowed to I'm trying to implement django-viewflow in my project, using django-admin as a GUI.
I'm currently trying to create a custom view and relative template to show a user a list of all the processes that he can start,
so not the process instances but a list of process models he's allowed to see.
Is it possible? I tried using the ProcessListView but it requires a flow_class, while I'd like to see all flows the user is allowed to.

A: You can get available process instances with Process.objects.filter_available([flow_class1, flow_class2, ...], user)


text:
» How do you get sole physical custody in North Carolina?
How do you get sole physical custody in North Carolina?
When determining physical custody of a child, North Carolina courts work on the basis that the best arrangement for a child is joint physical custody. If you want to seek sole physical custody, you will have to prove to the judge why it is in your child's best interests.
What does a court need to see to award sole physical custody?
If seeking sole physical custody, you must tread a fine line. You need to explain to a judge why the other parent should not be given a share of custody without appearing overly critical. Here are some reasons that could support your claim:
The other parent is unfit to parent: This could be due to abusive behavior, problems with drugs or alcohol, or a personality disorder.
The other parent is unavailable: This could be because the parent is in prison or because their work schedule requires them to travel frequently or work extremely long hours. If one parent wishes to move, this could also make shared physical custody impossible if the distance between the two homes is too great.
The other parent is incapable of caring for the child: Someone who has a severe mental or physical disability may need daily help themselves and be unable to take on the extra responsibility. That is not to say that every disability prevents a parent from raising a child, far from it.
The other parent shows no interest: It would make no sense to award physical custody to someone who does not want to bring up a child.
If both parents agree that one parent has sole physical custody, a judge would typically respect that decision unless there are serious grounds not to.
How does sole physical custody affect support?
If you gain sole physical custody, the other parent will be required to pay you child support. If you share physical custody equally, a court may decide child support payments are not needed. Courts will look at each situation individually. Consult our child custody FAQs page to answer more of your queries.
2 compelling reasons to establish paternity as an unmarried dad
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What is a guardianship?
Never make these mistakes in child custody
When is a postnuptial agreement used?
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text:
Can Georgia reverse recent history against Gamecocks?
Steve Spurrier has more wins against Georgia than any other coach in history. (Street Lecka/Getty Images)
Tim Tucker
ATHENS — In the past five seasons, Georgia's football team posted a combined 11-4 record against SEC rivals Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. Yet in the same five seasons, the Bulldogs went 1-4 against South Carolina.
It is a record that gnaws at Georgia's veteran players and provides the backdrop to Saturday's matchup with the Gamecocks in Sanford Stadium.
"It's definitely motivating," UGA nose guard Chris Mayes said. "You definitely want to come back and just play them harder to … get that chip off your shoulder."
Georgia and South Carolina have met 67 times in football, dating to 1894, and this marks the first time the Gamecocks have won four of five games against the Bulldogs. Georgia still leads the all-time series 47-18-2. The Bulldogs even won four of the first five games after Steve Spurrier became the Gamecocks' coach in 2005.
Then came this stretch.
Three of Georgia's four losses to the Gamecocks since 2010 came in Columbia, including last year's 38-35 defeat, while the teams split the past two meetings in Athens.
The pain of those losses wasn't lost on the Bulldogs, particularly the seniors, as they prepared this week for another game against the Gamecocks.
"You look back and see some of the plays you could have made that you didn't make and just look at some of the reasons why you lost and use that to get yourself mentally ready," senior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins said.
"Me personally, I didn't play to the best of my capabilities last year when we played them. I feel like I was definitely a part of that loss. Some of that weight had to belong on me."
Of the eight teams Georgia faces annually — six SEC East opponents plus Auburn and Georgia Tech — the Bulldogs had a losing record against only South Carolina in the past five seasons. From 2010 through 2014, Georgia was 5-0 against Kentucky and Tennessee, 4-1 against Tech and Vanderbilt, 3-2 against Auburn and Florida, and 2-1 against Missouri (which joined the SEC in 2012).
South Carolina's recent record against Georgia has resumed Spurrier's famous coaching success vs. the Bulldogs. He is 16-6 against them, including 11-1 as Florida's coach and 5-5 as South Carolina's. That gives him more wins against UGA than any other coach in history.
South Carolina's upset win last season was particularly painful for Georgia, which entered that game ranked No. 6 nationally compared to the Gamecocks' No. 24. The Bulldogs didn't rely on Todd Gurley to get the ball into the end zone after an interception gave them a first-and-goal at the 6-yard line trailing by three points with about six minutes to play. Then Marshall Morgan missed a short field-goal attempt that could have tied the score.
"I remember a sour taste in my mouth leaving the field," Jenkins said. "That was another heart-felt loss."
Mayes remembers something else about that game: South Carolina's 176 rushing yards.
"If we had stopped the run, that would have been our game," Mayes said. "But it's a new year, so we plan on definitely stopping it this game."
Georgia enters this game as a 17-point favorite, the oddsmakers reflecting South Carolina's home loss to Kentucky last week rather than its recent record against Georgia.
"We always end up playing South Carolina close," said Jenkins, scoffing at the 17-point spread. "I know it's going to be a game of inches. … You just have to always be ready for whatever. Spurrier has got tricks in his bag."
Tailback Nick Chubb, now the focal point of Georgia's offense, played sparingly at South Carolina as a freshman last season — four carries for 34 yards — and seems oblivious to series history.
"I don't care about all that," Chubb said. "It's year by year."
Georgia coach Mark Richt also doesn't think there's much to be gained from belaboring the past.
"Just like if you're going to take a math test and you're thinking about, 'Well, my last math test, I got an F,' if that's all you're thinking about, what's the chance of succeeding?" Richt said. "You've got to be thinking about, 'How do I do this formula? How do I do that formula?'
"You've got to focus on your job. That's what we try to do: Focus on the job."
PAST FIVE MEETINGS
The past five football games between Georgia and South Carolina:
Year / Site / Score
2010 / Columbia / South Carolina 17, Georgia 6
2011 / Athens / South Carolina 45, Georgia 42
2013 / Athens / Georgia 41, South Carolina 30
2014 / Columbia / South Carolina 38, Georgia 35
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Jacolbe Cowan
Providence Day School, Class of '20
6-6, 272 pounds


text:
The Feckless King
The president's fall has come, and it has a Shakespearean flavor.
By Eliot A. Cohen
Brendan Smialowski / Hulton Archive / Getty / Katie Martin / The Atlantic
When Donald Trump's case of COVID-19 became known, commentators began reaching for adjectives, starting with Shakespearean. It is well that they did not call the situation a Greek tragedy, because that would presume a tragic flaw, be it the outrageous arrogance of a formidable figure known as hubris or a virtue that carried the hero over the edge. But is the Bard, at least, being properly evoked?
Trump does elicit torrid metaphors, and in this case some of those gloating observers (in concealed or open fashion, to their particular taste) seem to have in mind something like Act V, Scene iii of Richard III, in which the villainous king, before the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, is visited by the ghosts of those he has murdered. One by one, they make disobliging remarks such as "Let me sit heavy on thy soul tomorrow" and "Tomorrow in the battle think on me, and fall thy edgeless sword," and, simply, "Despair and die." The equivalent, one supposes, would be the ghosts of John McCain, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and John Lewis giving the president a bad night of it during a fevered sleep.
But Trump is not, and never was, Richard III, or indeed any of Shakespeare's other great villains, such as Iago or Macbeth. He is not as smart, well spoken, or competent as they are; he has limited self-awareness, and would be incapable of the poignant soliloquies that leave us with a sneaking sympathy for Richard III, in particular.
No, Trump gets little further in tragic stature than the wretched Prince Cloten of Cymbeline, an oafish would-be murderer and rapist who fails in his desire to get the woman for whom he lusts and comes to a sticky end. Cloten is not a major figure, because there just is not enough human interest in him to commend him to either the playwright or us. But within Trump are fragments of other Shakespearean characters. And of these, the most notable is Richard II.
Richard II is the king whose deposition and ultimate murder, in 1400, launched the Wars of the Roses, which culminated in the battle in which Richard III fell 85 years later, and which gave way to the Tudor monarchy. Richard II is, to be sure, far more clever and more literate than Trump. His speeches are glorious Shakespearean set pieces. But shrewd though he can be in reading others, in some of his outlook on his own power and perquisites, he is very Trumpian.
He has, for example, no respect for those who, unlike him, have really been through war. He mocks his uncle John of Gaunt on the latter's deathbed, just after the old man has spoken the most glorious patriotic speech about England ever composed. And he is not sentimental about wanting the gallant, dying warrior out of the way: "And let them die that age and sullens have / For both has thou, and both become the grave." He is already planning to seize Gaunt's land and treasures for his next disastrous project. One thinks of Trump's treatment of the battle-scarred John McCain, who was in his last months gaunt indeed, and who was treated with contempt by a wayward and cowardly ruler. As in Gaunt's case, it was the king who "lies in reputation sick."
Richard II, like Trump, cannot view individuals as peers; he has no real friends. His courtiers, Bushy and Green, are sycophants ("the caterpillars of the commonwealth") whom Bolingbroke briskly sends to the block. Richard has counselors who try to give him good advice (his other uncle, the Duke of York, most notably), but he pays little more heed and respect to them than Trump ultimately did to Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
The feckless king is intoxicated with his kingship, which he sees not as a weighty responsibility or as stewardship on behalf of the people of England, but as a matter of personal possession and divine right. And that overweening sense of his rightful and absolute claim to the throne—his equivalent of Trump refusing to recognize the possibility that he might lose an election and his repeatedly expressed unwillingness to live by its results—ends up contributing to his fall.
Just before he is deposed, this is what Richard says to the usurper Bolingbroke:
Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm off from an anointed king;
The breath of worldly men cannot depose
The deputy elected by the Lord:
For every man that Bolingbroke hath press'd
To lift shrewd steel against our golden crown,
God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay
A glorious angel: then, if angels fight,
Weak men must fall, for heaven still guards the right.
Someone like that is so besotted by monarchy and so deluded about his own popularity, in heaven as on Earth, that he cannot conceive of the possibility of losing the crown—until he does. The angels, needless to say, do not show up.
In Trump's case, the revealing moment in his illness was when he implied that those responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak in the White House were soldiers and police officers. They "want to hug you and they want to kiss you, because we really have done a good job for them, and you get close, and things happen." It was a revealingly Trumpian comment, in its falsehood, its blaming of others, and its insistence—psychologically imperative for someone without a core—that he is deeply loved.
Eventually, Richard II, though, faces reality, and then he falls apart. Unlike what one may expect with Trump, he comes to see how frail he is, and how evanescent human authority and power are.
For within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a breath, a little scene,
To monarchize, be fear'd and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As if this flesh which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable, and humour'd thus
Comes at the last and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!
Richard's own descent into madness comes as he realizes that it is not merely the crown that is hollow, but his very self. "Thus play I in one person many people," he says in prison. But he knows, in the end, that he is not much in particular, and that "love to Richard / Is a strange brooch in this all-hating world." His identity was so wrapped up in kingship as such (not as responsibility or trust) that when the crown is gone, he has no idea who he really is. Trump will probably not get that far: His narcissism is even more deeply entrenched than Richard's. But at some point, as with Richard, reality will intervene, and perhaps with his illness to some extent it has.
One may feel somewhat, but only somewhat, sorry for Richard; it is unlikely that many of Trump's critics will pity and forgive him when his fall comes. Nor should they. If there is human sympathy to be extended here, think of the White House attendants, the Secret Service personnel, and the aircrew of Air Force One, whom the president's recklessness has exposed to potentially mortal illness. The absence of contact tracing, the late notification to co-workers, and, above all, the pervasive disregard of and derision for the elementary health precautions urged by doctors to limit the spread of the disease bespeak a bad Shakespearean king's contempt for his soldiers and servants, for his courtiers and lackeys. The Almighty may forgive this, but there is no particular reason why anyone else should. The good news in this sorry tale is that sooner or later—and as of late, it looks to be sooner—the curtain really will fall on this appalling play.