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Terror in Resonance Ep. 11 (Finale): Your hand in mine
Twelve will always have his signature goofy smile even though the world is about to end. Of course, the world doesn't literally come to an end. But in a way, it did. No one will sit here and defend the two atomic bombings at the end of the Second World War with a straight face. But Fat Man and Little Boy did accomplish one thing: it allowed Japan to start over. At that point in the war, defeat was already a foregone conclusion, but the two atom bombs sealed the deal. In fact, the explosions were so strong, it figuratively knocked Japan back to an infantile state. Japan's empire-building ambitions went up in flames along with everything else. All that anyone could do was pick up the pieces and rebuild the country. And even though Japan may have felt as though it has been politically emasculated by the US over the last few decades, the country did nevertheless rebuild itself into something impressive and majestic in its own right.
But once again, it feels as though Japan is starting to reach that symbolic age again where it wants to assert its own independence. Like a rebellious teenager, the country no longer wants to listen to its "parent," i.e. the United States. Japan is tired of being bossed around, and it wants to do its own thing. On paper, there's nothing wrong with this idea. Should the US really be allowed to meddle in Japan's affairs forever? One could justifiably argue that the US should have left a long time ago. When the secret American operatives assassinated Twelve at the end of this week's episode, Terror in Resonance merely echoes what many people have felt for a long time now: the US is only looking out for itself. But although this is a problem — and its a problem that Japan will eventually have to address in the long run — Terror in Resonance wants us to be cognizant of a bigger concern: Japan's crimes against its own people.
Twelve was originally drawn to Lisa because she was him and Nine. She was also a victim of abuse, both at school and at home. Worst of all, nobody seemed to notice. Nobody seemed to care. Lisa suffered silently as her classmates tormented her at school. Lisa then had no one to turn to when her own mother became an emotional black hole. Likewise, Nine and Twelve suffered from abuse. Not only that, there were others like them. Thirty children in total were taken away to some mysterious institution. And at this institution, the children lost their youth, their innocence and their humanity. They were told that nobody loved them. They were told that they were nothing. They were even told that they had no name. By now, we know the truth. A secret faction in Japan had wanted to create its own race of supersoldiers by inhumanely experimenting on these orphans. Those like Shibazaki had tried to uncover the truth many years ago, but like with Lisa, the rest of the nation was oblivious. There were just too many distractions.
During the Second World War, the Imperial Japanese Army convinced its soldiers to die for the country. Above all else, duty to the emperor and Japan was utmost. Nothing else mattered. Even if the battle was already lost, you were not allowed to surrender. You were not allowed to save yourself. Instead, you had to sacrifice your life and try to take the enemy with you. But let's be honest: there was nothing noble about what these kids had to do. They were trained to become murderers, and some even became rapists. Like Sphinx, these boys lost their youth, their innocence, and their humanity. And for what? At the time, Imperial Japan claimed it was merely trying to unite East Asia against the Westerners. The slogan at the time was, "Asia for Asians!" In truth, however, Japan and its soldiers were not liberators. Just ask South Korea if you don't believe me. The point is, you can't simply trust good intentions, and once again, Japanese leaders were exploiting the country's youth in the name of good intentions.
Mamiya can sit there and claim that he did what he had to do to help Japan restore its independence. It's just funny how he had to hide himself from the public eye. It's just funny how he had to seclude himself in a private estate behind tall walls and a security system. It's just funny how, once again, Japanese youth had to suffer for the sake of the nation. Yes, the US has politically emasculated Japan for decades now. Yes, Japan desires independence. Yes, the US is only and always simply looking out for itself and not its allies — thanks realpolitik! We should find a solution to these problems. No one's denying that. But at what costs? At the cost of Japanese youth again? And have we forgotten what the two atomic bombings had done to the nation and its psyche? Do we really want to revisit that nightmare again? Nine and Twelve thus took it upon themselves to remind the country of its history. The atomic bomb did go off in this week's episode, but it went off in the stratosphere. Unlike their abusers, Nine and Twelve are not murderers.
Sphinx simply wanted the slumbering populace to open their eyes and realize what was happening around them. As the inhabitants of Tokyo poured out onto the streets to evacuate the city, the bomb went off. People stood still and looked up to the sky in rapt attention as the bomb bathed them in a golden, almost divine-like light. It was as if Nine and Twelve were angels, and they had brought God's judgment down upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Tokyo didn't go up in flames, but the resulting electromagnetic pulse did shut down the metropolis's power grid as well as all means of telecommunications. For the first time in a long time, Tokyo had gone offline. For the first time in a long time, you could say that the country was allowed to look inward and reflect on its sins. There were no more distractions. Japanese people could no longer look away and turn a blind eye to the situation. Nine and Five were victims of abuse, and this was their cry for help. In the end, it's too late to save their souls, but they might have prevented other children from being abused like them.
Again, the world doesn't come to an end, but Sphinx's actions nevertheless allowed the country to start over. The country thus purged itself of the evildoers, i.e. Mamiya and his ilk. More importantly, it's a time to reflect, i.e. "How were we so blind to all of this?" Certainly, Japan's relationship with the US continues to be problematic, but any proposed solution must be considered carefully. And all too often, those in power are ready and willing to leverage the lives of young people for their own selfish, short-sighted political gains. In a way, the story is about breaking the cycle of abuse. Japan saw and continues to see America as a bully, and in turn, people like Mamiya abused children in a misguided search for a solution to the previous problem. Lisa's mother had been abandoned, and in turn, she inadvertently abused her own daughter. One can only speculate why Lisa's classmates felt the need to pick on her, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had their own troubles to deal with as well. The cycle of abuse will continue if people aren't willing to make a stand.
One way is to remove yourself from the situation, which seems to be what Lisa had done. But in Nine and Twelve's case, they can't just remove all the youths from Japan in order to protect them from people like Mamiya. So instead, they created a loud enough ruckus to give themselves credibility. Otherwise, who would listen to a pair of troublemakers like them? Sometimes, children act out just for attention. That's exactly what Nine and Twelve did.
Stray notes & observations:
— I'll give my grade on the series as a whole in the next "Everything Else" post. I just want this post to focus on the ending and the ending alone.
— At first, I wondered if Lisa had called her mom to make sure her mom had evacuated. Turns out she was just trying to seek emergency help for Twelve. I wonder if the relationship between her and her mom are too far gone to mend.
— What I had written in a previous post still makes sense now:
Mukasa wonders out loud, "Anyway, don't you think Sphinx is lonely, too? They probably just want attention." It's funny how the most clueless guy in these stories will typically to hit the nail right on the head. Shibazaki's corpulent co-worker is right: the boys are an extreme example of attention-seeking teenagers. And as always, the problem on our hands is that they don't care if the attention they get is good or bad. They just want attention period. They just want to open up a dialogue even if it ends up being an abusive shouting match.
— How do I feel about Nine and Twelve's deaths? Well, it was a long time coming. Again, an excerpt from a previous post:
Lisa is jealous of the bond that Nine and Twelve share, but not in a malicious way. She just wishes she had someone she was close to. Twelve replies, "Well, we've been together for a long time." He then looks wistfully off to the side. The anime immediately cuts to those white sheets swaying in the wind as Twelve continues to say, "Just the two of us." We don't get to see his expression. He sounds resigned as he says it, too. The anime then lingers on the white sheets for a short moment. It almost seems as though Twelve has accepted his and Nine's eventual deaths, but on the plus side, they'll die together, i.e. "Just the two of us." Just earlier in the episode, there's a peculiar scene where we see Twelve just standing alone on the rooftop, looking to at the sky as white feathers float up around him. There's something angelic about the scene, almost suggesting that he's looking forward to the peaceful release that accompanies death. For now, he and Nine have a mission to accomplish, but when they reach their destination, they will be free. In a way, he and his partner have always been prisoners. They were imprisoned at that institute, and even now, they are imprisoned by the memories of their past. For example, Nine frequently suffers from nightmares. As a result, the two boys — Twelve, specifically — may see death as a solace. What's clear, however, is that Nine and Twelve are always prepared that they may die anytime they go out.
— Plus, I'm not surprised Nine suffered from those chronic headaches immediately after Twelve died. These are the same headaches that had afflicted Five, too. It turns out the music from a cold land was from Iceland. Furthermore, V-O-N means hope… Most of the children involved in the Athena Plan eventually succumbed to the side effects of the drug they had been given, but I speculated last week that these children had simply given up on life. The Settlement stripped them of their will to live, so they had no reason to keep fighting for their own survival. Five was an exception only because she wanted to beat Nine at least once in her life. When she accepted that she couldn't, she lost hope and committed suicide before her body would give up on her. With Twelve lying dead before him, Nine doesn't really have much of a reason to continue either. We don't exactly get to see how he dies, but his vision blurs and it looks as though he falls backwards and loses consciousness. The point is, he no longer had any reason to keep fighting either. It's telling that he sees three birds flying up to the sky. Does Five finally get to join the two boys?
— It doesn't really matter whether or not Nine really had more bombs hidden around the country, and I'm inclined to think he didn't. The important takeaway is that the US doesn't care.
— Shibazaki represented Oedipus because he was willing to do harm to himself in pursuit of the truth. Unlike many of his peers, Shibazaki was never afraid of the repercussions. He knew his life could be forfeit, but he pressed on anyway. Others were understandably concerned about their own welfare and/or the safety of their loved ones. Still, these concerns can "cloud" our judgment, one might say. Shibazaki turned a blind eye to his own well-being, and that was the only way he could give himself enough courage to press on with his investigation.
This entry was posted in Anime, Series, Terror in Resonance and tagged Anime, Terror in Resonance, Zankyou no Terror on September 25, 2014 by Sean.
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44 thoughts on "Terror in Resonance Ep. 11 (Finale): Your hand in mine"
Gabriela Capellete September 25, 2014 at 4:19 pm
This ending just broke my heart. Yes; yes, it was expected. but it doesn't change how I felt. However, it was nonetheless the best anime of 2014 so far.
E Minor Post author September 25, 2014 at 11:10 pm
Wanted to see them alive, huh? I don't know, I feel like even if they had survived the ordeal, they would've had a long, tough life ahead of them. They'd still be guilty of causing billions of yen worth in damage, hacking secure networks and stealing money from banks, perhaps treason against the state maybe, and various other charges. They'd go to jail for a long time, then what would be waiting for them when they got out?
mexicano21 September 26, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Also, I think Lisa would be tied to Twelve as long as he had lived. His death is her last "coming of age" trial. And as we saw in the epilogue, she passed. Lisa was a character too strong to end as a mere accomplice or hostage.
John Nash September 25, 2014 at 4:20 pm
With Shibazaki being Oedipus the name Sphinx finally makes sense to me, since Nine and Twelve asked him the riddle that finally brought Shibazaki to the place where his "father" (if you want to address Mamiya and his accomplices that way) lived (although it doesn't fit completely since Laios was already dead in the mythological version, while Shibazaki still has to "kill" his ancestors).
Flawfinder September 25, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Resonance is definitely an interesting series with interesting reactions. Alot of people right now still struggle to see what the point is and it's causing them to label the show as poorly written and all that. I myself had a shallower view than you when it ended, but I thought what I got out of it was enough. Even if you don't really understand everything, I think there's enough going on at face-value to like about it (plot moved forward at a steady pace, characters developed visually, the more obvious themes were interesting enough, etc.).
Of course, quite a number of people find the characters boring. Ah well. Got nothing to say regarding that.
Alot of people right now still struggle to see what the point is and it's causing them to label the show as poorly written and all that.
I haven't really read any of the threads that are linking to my posts. What do you see to be the primary argument against the show? Simply that they don't see the point?
DP September 26, 2014 at 3:00 am
People are objecting to the fact that the show was tasteful, well-animated, masterfully scored and directed…and an absolute mess of poor plotting, characterization and stupid Hollywood blockbuster clichés.
Forgetting about all of the issues of plausibility (teenagers stealing plutonium and blowing things up, but never killing anyone; playing chess on airport billboards; etc.) was there anything at all about the character of Five that made sense, except for the seeming need to introduce the Americans as big, bad and stupid? And, I suppose, padding out the middle section of the show?
What was the purpose of Lisa, who has no agency, and drifts along through the whole show seemingly so she can be there to get Twelve to "care" about another person and then urge him to go help Nine at a key moment? Oh, and to further hit us over the head with the show's lunkheaded themes by telling us what VON means at the end.
And then there's Shibazaki, the most trite character of all, the all-knowing, misunderstood-by-his-bosses detective, who is the only one who really understands that these brilliant, crazy kids are just trying to get an important point across to the nation. Oh, why won't anyone listen to the only man in Japan who has figured out what's going on?
Oh, and let's not forget the enormous plot holes, including letting kids who've stolen plutonium and set off innumerable bombs continually go free of police custody.
It's nice that so many people have enjoyed such a technically well-made anime, and that you've been able to wring meaning from its hectoring, manipulative blunderbuss of a plot. But don't doubt for a second that there are plenty of reasons to see this show as little more than a beautiful piece of dreck.
E Minor Post author September 26, 2014 at 3:11 am
You've hated Samurai Flamenco, Ping Pong, and now this. I gave you the benefit of the doubt with Samurai Flamenco and thus engaged you in a debate, but you've shown since then that you only ever comment to complain. You'd have some credibility if you would comment on anything else I write, but you only ever show up to trash these shows. It seems like your main mission is to be contrarian and tear down these "elitist" shows, so why should I take you seriously? You're just a troll at this point. Not going to bother with your nonsense this time around.
This is everything I hated about the show summarized. What a waste of animation and direction.
Flawfinder September 26, 2014 at 4:45 am
I remember you getting linked to Digibro's video before. Think he sums up what most people didn't like about Resonance here: http://myswordisunbelievablydull.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/how-to-lose-the-audience-zankyou-no-terror-critical-analysis/
If you don't want to read all of that or watch the video, basically the characters were impossible to relate to, the themes were too vague, the surface logic was too stupid, and he basically failed to see the entire point of the thing.
So yes, it's mostly that people don't get the point (or care to get the point because the surface is too dull for them) that turns them off from Resonance.
Strange. I thought the show was pretty straightforward. We're not talking about a Jodorowsky film here. Bomb bad. Bullying bad. Don't let history repeat itself.
I've only seen The Holy Mountain (which I love) which is definitely more complicated than "bomb bad" and such, so I can't really compare the show to Jodorowsky's resume in general.
And I've really got no idea why people are having a hard time getting into this, especially since it's only a fraction as confusing and obtuse as something like Paranoia Agent (and we all love that show). Different tastes in what's considered a good character definitely plays a part in it though. I mean it's possible to get the point of something and still not care for it. I can't stand Fincher's "The Social Network" for example because the characters were too unlikeable for my taste, but I understand most of what it's about and that the characters being terrible people is a big part of why the movie works. But that doesn't seem to be the problem that most people have (and if it is, they don't clarify it well).
@eternia And yet you give a pass to Akame ga Kill's bullshit. Why? Yes, it takes place in a more fictional setting, but it has no freaking plot and its commentary is shallow! And none of what you complain about has anything to do with what happens in Resonance at all.
Oh well. I've made my case for the show. If people aren't convinced, so be it. I don't feel the need to defend its honor or anything. Bring on the fall season.
Whoops. I thought Eternia commented on your blog, but he commented on my blog instead. My mistake.
SP September 26, 2014 at 8:37 am
It's a short plot driven story with a simple message. In fact, the only character that needed to be fleshed out were Nine & Twelve. And everyone else from Shibasaki & Lisa to Five were defining those to & adding more to the plot. Most of the cast , including one or two scene ones weren't there just for show like half of Aldnoah's cast (who never did anything for the plot nor help to understand or develop the main characters). So I'll say the characters in this series weren't bad at all when you look at the end product.
akeem September 25, 2014 at 6:00 pm
This post made me realize that maybe the citizens were so oblivious to what was going on was done on purpose to show how distracted people are. If they didn't die the ending would have had less impact, I think.
Good Taste September 25, 2014 at 7:01 pm
I was pleasantly surprised with that ending. The show really did come together thematically in it's last 2 episodes, it's still a little unfortunate about 5. I loved the atomic bomb sequence.
What was unfortunate about Five?
eternia September 26, 2014 at 6:37 am
She's a stereotype and uninteresting character. A character whose motivation is too simplistic, behavior and way of thinking is too shallow, and doesn't feel like human. If I were to compare this to Death Note, she would be the equivalent of Near, the most shitty character of the whole series.
E Minor Post author September 26, 2014 at 1:48 pm
Well, I obviously disagree on all your points, but I've written enough about Five in the previous two posts on the series. No point rehashing everything I've said.
I thought her arc felt a little out of place although I didn't despise her like others did.
What would the orphans have been like if they had survived? I think Five was an attempt to explore that idea. Nine and Twelve had each other, and they had escaped the Settlement. Basically, they weren't the best examples. People say Five doesn't feel human, and that her motivations weren't good enough, but she never had the average human's upbringing. So even though Five appeared at first to be on a mission to catch the two boys, she was really just trying to fulfill a childhood dream (of beating Nine). It was the one human thing she could hold onto. It's bittersweet in a way. They couldn't rid her of her humanity completely, so our humanity finds a way. But at the same time, her one human desire ended up spelling her downfall. So anyway, I find her character fascinating, but like I've said elsewhere, I've written enough on her so we'll just agree to disagree.
Senpai September 25, 2014 at 10:09 pm
I would definitely consider Zankyou to have the strongest ending of this season. As you mentioned in an earlier post, light is a major presence within the settings, with overexposed hot exteriors and dark, claustrophobic interiors As Lisa and Twelve held hands in that golden, angelic glow, it seems like they had finally found the light, and everyone else looking up had seen the same, unhideable truth. Nine overlooks the city as the power goes out and the aurora comes back into view- a glowing light "from a cold land". The music was surreal, just like the Ferris wheel scene soft and perfect. Anime of the season.
I don't want to make many general statements about the entire series yet, but in terms of theming and conflict, it remînded me of Grave of the Fireflies. *grabs tear bucket*. That story took place during WW2, as the nation sacriced it's youth, following a pair of siblings without a family, without a country.
And… I'm typing on an iPad.
When was it ever a good year for anime?
SP September 25, 2014 at 10:10 pm
Without a doubt the best anime of 2014 so far, with none of the upcoming anime looking they could overthrow it. The ending somewhat reminded me of the ending from Stand Alone Complex season 2, with Nine being similar figure to the test subjects as Kuze was to refugees.
Possible good shows for fall: Psycho-Pass 2, Donten ni Warau, Kiseijuu, Fate/cashgrab, and Mushishi Zoku 2. Not spotting much else. It's been a pretty awful year for anime.
That seems like enough to me. I'd throw in the Mappa shows and take out Fate, but otherwise…
I've been hearing positive things about Kiseijuu & Mushishi so I'll check them out (I don't have any anime to continue). I'm skeptical about Psycho-Pass 2 since Urobucher isn't involved & except Fate/Zero, nasuverse has never grabbed my attention. And there's SnB, which is unknown but the trailer has given me some hope for a good high fantasy. Although topping ZnT as anime of the year is going to be a hard job for any of them.
And I'll blame more reliance on otaku pandering & light novel adaptation (which mostly aren't that good even in source material) for over abundance of awful anime. It's like most anime production have some paranoia of getting bankrupt at any given time & don't want to take risk at all.
BRK99 September 26, 2014 at 6:43 am
You know what's interesting? The characters names could be taken straight from the Mythopoetic stories on the arcana.
Twelve as the hanged man who deals with betrayal. Sacrifice and letting go like in Episode nine.
Nine as the hermit, one who is silent or making deep introspection and what not.
Five acted as a Heirophant and in the negative aspects, a leader in a radical faction, USA right now. She also brought balance to an onslaught group called Sphinx.
Even every episode follows the journey from the Magician up to the eleventh episode where it is JUSTICE! Which is what the two boys managed to accomplish.
The words on the side are
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huginn_and_Muninn
Which would make a whole lot of sense.
BoyTitan September 26, 2014 at 8:10 am
…The last few episodes made me actually care for 9 and 12 and want them to well succeed. I mean I knew they were going to die but this last episode really made me care for their existence and goal. That just takes good story telling no matter what medium you use. Epically since in the beginning I did not really care for any of em. Lisa was just a klutz and nine and twelve were just terrorist. Actually Lisa became very likeable which is hard to do because I can think of several series where I just want the pitiful klutz with a bad life to die. Honestly only issues I have are with 5 in her last episode.
IonCaron (@IonCaron) September 26, 2014 at 4:48 pm
The show seems to have a lot of flaws but your interpretation of it's themes on abuse and nationalism make it more interesting to me.
I suppose my biggest gripe is the "America is a bully" aspect. It's like it's either "America is the greatest" or "America is the bully".
Here's a link to a topic on the United States's international actions as a superpower brought up during a discussion with Daniel Hannon, a member of the European Parliament:
Now, disregarding the nonsense the interviewer said about Bush (which Hannon accurately dismantles later on in the interview), you can see that there's more to America than just being some greedy, manipulative bully.
I'm not under any delusion about our nation's government, mind you. I have strong feelings against the PRISM spy programs which have yet to be de-funded, against the bootprint of the Bush administration's lovely Patriot Act, against the Obama administration's foreign policies and of course against the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) he put into being. I know as well as everyone else how our government acts in a self-serving manner and, as frequently as it breathes, in opposition to our constitution.
_But it seems that Japanese narratives that take place in any political realm love to tout America as the selfish master of a battered, leashed hound when in reality Japan isn't much better. America isn't ONLY a bully, and Japan isn't ONLY some "underdog seeking independence". To me, this trope is just ludicrous and steeped in archaic agenda.
Then again, while that subject was part of the plot, the story did also show Japan's ability to commit crimes against its people (especially children) as well. Perhaps that's why, despite how I feel about the "America Bully, Japan Underdog" trope, I can at least see what the show was going for.
Great post, mate.
Terror in Resonance is not a term paper on American foreign policy. It doesn't have to look at the whole picture. Nobody is saying that Japan hasn't benefited greatly from their relationship with America. Just one look at Tokyo is enough to prove that. Certain things need not be said. Certain things are a given. Certain things can be assumed because we're not idiots. The show does not need to reassure viewers that there are two sides to every situation, because anyone with half a brain wouldn't jump to conclusions just from watching this anime alone. I don't see anything in Terror in Resonance that suggests America is evil. It simply suggests that America is looking out for its own interests, which is true. And Japan is also looking out for its own interests, which is also true. At the end of the day, the show isn't even about condemning America. The boys' mission have always been about exposing Japan's crimes and nothing more. America's sudden appearance in the ending is more like a convenient way to make sure the boys don't survive the ordeal.
Fair enough, mate. That's why I started off with how your perspective makes this show more interesting and ended on how the show didn't latch onto that trope like most anime with modern-day socio-political themes do.
I suppose I was just speaking in general about that annoying trope. Plus I suppose a bit of my reaction to Angel Cop's moronic ending leaked into this. I had just finished watching it and WOW.
If you ever want to annoy yourself (which I doubt you need more of since you've yet to endure whatever hell awaits for the finale of Sono Kuroki Hagane) then check out the ending to Angel Cop. The whole show is just some barely passable 80's action fluff that literally ends on the most ham-handed, idiotic, politically retarded note I've ever seen.
Thankfully the climax of Resonance didn't close with the writer using one of the main characters to pour out their beliefs on the evils of America and the Jews. haha
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catonwall September 28, 2014 at 9:01 pm
As much as I liked this show, I find that Lisa's character is a bit too shallow. The entire meaning of her character here is just to help Twelve and Nine. I don't feel that she changes, that she suffers a transformation like Twelve or Nine, or even Shibazaki. She is merely the trigger… am I explaining myself?
She didn't even call her mom to see if she was fine… It's like she lost herself and her own problems when she joined the guys. I can't buy that she doesn't worry about her mom.
I can see Lisa helping the guys, giving them the "friendship" or "love" they didn't know about, but in the end I don't see her facing her problems or changing in any way. That annoys me, because that makes me feel that she fails as a character and that she's just accessory. I wanted her to be more than a plot device to humanize the guys.
Besides that, I liked the show very much. It wasn't realistic, but we knew that since the beginning, so I didn't care about Five and her omniscient being.
I won't disagree with you necessarily, but in an 11-episode series, some sacrifices have to be made.
Michael Huang (@gendomike) September 29, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Very interesting. Flawfinder pointed me to your posts about this show since you comment on it on a political and sociological level, which is where I thought ZnT was most flawed—it seemed haphazard to me. You seem to be presenting a case where it's actually much more coherent than I had thought, and I need to think about that, especially as an indictment of Japanese nationalism. Good work.
The main thing I'd say at this point, as I'm going through your past posts, is that one aspect which may throw a wrinkle: for the past few decades, the American government has been eagerly encouraging Japan to rearm. It does so for self-interest, of course: to counterbalance the rise of China and to contain the threat of North Korea, among other things. I don't think it would go so far as to encourage a nuclear armament, though it's assumed that Japan has at least breakout capability. Perhaps that is why the Americans seem to play a fairly ambiguous role in ZnT, rather than a plain villainous one: they don't object to Japan becoming rearming, but the means by which it might happen would look bad for everyone involved, so they have to quietly put it to rest.
To me ZnT still feels tentative and hesitant when it raises these issues, but maybe I'm missing some subtleties. The Battle of Algiers this may not be, and it's not really fair to expect that, but I do suspect that a truly radical political work on that level would be both bracing…and impossible to make in today's climate. But in a time when nationalism is on the rise, even in anime itself (Mahouka seems blatantly anti-Chinese, for instance, along with the veiled possible racism of Terra Formars), a clear voice would have been so refreshing…
To me ZnT still feels tentative and hesitant when it raises these issues,
I think these are valid concerns. I don't think the show is perfect by any means, and I would even point to the medium as one of the culprits holding the premise back. There's just something about anime that can't be taken 100% seriously. There's just something about anime where you just have to expect super-capable children and sexy schoolgirls, which is what we got in a way. It's like at the end of the day, the show reminds itself that it's still an anime, so it can't go all-in on the topic. There still has to be enough to it that is "fun" to watch.
SSJP October 16, 2014 at 10:17 pm
Jesus fucking christ your write-ups are absolutely amazing. I just found your site and I'm in love with everything. You have a beautiful mind and it goes appreciated. I will remember you and continue to look through your posts, and if I ever have the resources, I will come back for you, and give you what I can! You are on my list of people to remember whenst I become rich!
E Minor Post author October 17, 2014 at 5:02 am
eponine December 22, 2014 at 1:05 am
Ooh, thank you a lot for these reviews.
I must admit I was puzzled (especially because of Five), and was blinded to all the great messages behind this story.
I didn't even think about all the political implications and philosophy behind everything. It took me a while to realize the real critcism the show was making (that made me feel really dumb, btw D:).
I didn't even know how to rate it, but now I'm much more confident to say this show was truly amazing.
I must say I enjoyed the begining the most though.
Stanley Ching. March 25, 2015 at 5:19 am
A very informative and fantastic read, it definitely helped me understand and acknowledge the deeper running themes, the questions about morality and where do we draw the line between the good of the nation and the liberty of an individual is very interesting.
I am considering following this blog but before I would like to ask what other animes do you plan to review in the future, briefly looking at your most recent posts, I haven't heard of a single title.
Also, I can't no remember if you mentioned this in the original post, but VON wanted Japan to reflect inwards upon its actions. By using the threat of a nuclear weapon, the two teenagers got the people of the nation wondering about the consequences of such power for the first time. Once again the politicians or the people in charge could point to the power of the nuclear bomb as a reason to build a bomb or to harvest the country's power off splitting the atom. Instead however, Japan and other countries have blindly turned an eye to the dangerous repercussions which could follow, repercussions which may never heal (like Twelve and Nine).


Get ready for some hot weather NYC! When temperatures rise, New York City operates Cooling Centers in air-conditioned public facilities including libraries, senior centers, community centers and NYCHA facilities to offer people relief from the heat. Hot and humid conditions can lead to heat-related health issues, particularly for the elderly. Take extra precaution and stay hydrated. Click here to find a Cooling Center near you or call 311 or the Community Board 14 office at 718-859-6357.
Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 6-9 PM.
The event is held each year to welcome new Community Board members and to recognize the excellence of the district's public servants and community leaders. Refreshments will be served. The reception will be held at the CB14 District Office (810 East 16th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230). All are welcome! For more information or to RSVP, please call 718-859-6357 or email info@cb14brooklyn.com.
As always, the Community Board 14 District Office will be open throughout the summer, Monday – Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, to assist with any complaints about service delivery or other community issues that may arise. Have a great summer!
The Department of Education (DOE) 2018 Summer Meals Program begins on June 27th and will run through August 31st (except July 4th and August 21st). Free breakfast (8 AM-9:15 AM) and lunch (11 AM-1:15 PM) will be available to all children up to age 18 at hundreds of public schools, community centers, public pools, libraries and other locations around New York City. No registration, documentation, or ID is required to receive a free breakfast or lunch. To find a location offering free Summer Meals near you, please visit www.schoolfoodnyc.org/sch_search/summermeals. For more information, call the NYC School Food program at 718.707.4300.
The community is invited to join Brooklyn Community Board 14 for our Annual Reception to welcome our new Community Board members and recognize the excellence of our public servants and community leaders. Refreshments will be served.
* The agenda for this meeting has not yet been set. Please check back later for agenda.
a) Committee of the Whole: The board's position with respect to meetings and public hearings on issues and/or actions which may require a vote during the summer months, is to hold these items over to September. The board will convene during the months of July and August should there be an item that requires a vote, in which case it is recommended that the board vote on a resolution empowering a "Committee of the Whole" to take action on behalf of the full board. This enables the board to satisfy its quorum requirement during the summer months.


Think healthy food is only for the elite? Think again! Please welcome my guest, integrative health care specialist and food writer, Christine Dionese. She's here today letting us pick her brain about accessing the abundant benefits of healthy food without breaking the bank!
Pure Mamas: So many myths surround the cost of food and its accessibility. I get a lot of readers and customers complaining about the high cost of being healthy. You must come across many of these myths as you teach families about their real choices. Let's discuss the most widely held myths about food and its cost.
Christine: Hi Juli! Identifying these myths is the best place to start empowering people about their beliefs on food and nutrition. While there are many, most center around economic concerns for families. While the price tag may be perceived as high, the real cost of food translates into our personal philosophies on health and wellness.
CD: How about the difference in cost between simple-carbohydrate containing foods verses complex-carbohydrate whole foods. For example, it's true that the sticker price of bleached white bread and organic whole grain bread will obviously differ. The white bread might seem more appealing since it'll satisfy hunger and comes with the lower monetary cost, but at what real cost?
In a society where we experience exceptionally high rates of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, the real cost of these nutritionally void food choices are seen in our health care costs over time. Investing in healthy food choices is a conscious decision to invest in your family's long-term health and wellness.
PM: Still even, I'm sure this is a challenge to convince people of?
CD: Like most things, there's a learning curve. My patients who'd been shuffled from doctor to doctor couldn't understand why it was marginally more expensive to come for a visit to my office instead of doctor x, y or z. After coming regularly and thriving with an integrative approach, they could see the healthy advantages in their wallet as well. Fewer visits equalled less co-pays, less cost on transportation, empowerment and well-being. The same exact money-saving principles equate to investing in healthy food choices.
PM: Which brings us to the myths you mentioned a lot of folks tend to perceive about food.
CD: Most of the myths are centered around the almighty dollar. Here's a couple I hear all of the time.
Myth 1 Health Food is only for rich people.
Not true! It's a been a long-held myth that eating and buying healthy food is only for the elite and rich folks. The first myth to bust is the poverty mentality surrounding this idea! With all that grows around us here in San Diego and across the US coasts, most of what we need to thrive is just steps away from our homes, grown close by in local fields... Think abundance!
Many of us live in areas so close to farmer's markets we don't even have to turn the car on! Markets are generally held three to five days a week across San Diego county just walking or biking distance away from our front doors!
Still not convinced? Then it's time for you to try a CSA. Earlier this month Juli wrote about her positive experience with the local San Diego company, Specialty Produce. Here she was able to draw on locally grown produce to make her Kookie Karma products a truly local creation. If you aren't familiar with community supported agriculture, check out my article here and hook up with one in your area. CSAs deliver a box chock full of produce from local farms to your community. Not only will you save your family a ton of dough, you'll also be putting money back into the local economy!
Myth 2 (This myth is from new parents I consult to). Organic baby food is simply too expensive. My kid is just going to have to settle on the jarred stuff.
No way! Not only will your new bundle of joy get a kick-start on a healthy pesticide-free diet, it's actually less expensive to make your own organic baby-food than buy it off the store shelves! An average of $600 dollars can be saved a year by making your own baby-food. If you decide to get your produce through a CSA or at a local farmer's market, the savings will be even more! Juli even has a personally created baby formula recipe you can check out here.
PM: What if folks don't have time for all of that? Another common myth that I tend to hear is that health food is designer food and families want to know, who can afford designer prices?
CD: If you want to drive down the cost of food prices, then your shopping habits might need a make-over in general. I won't name names, but you know who those big chain-food stores are. Most of the food on their shelves is either packaged in some far-off land or mass-produced in big factories only to have it shipped across the world before getting into your hands. Who do you think pays for that? You do!
Shopping at and supporting regional food markets is too easy and practical not to do it. Conscious consumerism will surely make your wallet fatter while offering symbolic lessons to help shape your children's spending too!
While it's true that packaged foods are generally pricier than those made in your own kitchen, purchasing according to a seasonal calender can save over $500 per year!
Talk to your neighbors. Chances are, they're striving to make their dollars stretch too! Instead of putting your money toward small packaged portions of meat, get together on a side of beef or several chickens to split the cost. You'll end up with more meat, will have supported a local farmer and get a chance to share more ideas like this with your neighbor!
Bring your own bag the next time you shop! Think those bags you get at the grocery store are bad for the environment? You're right! They also aren't so hot for your wallet either. The cost of your food is driven up by the massive quantities of bags produced each year to lug your stuff home.
Here's a few more tips on saving money at the register and becoming a socially conscious shopper!
PM: Thanks Christine. Can't wait until more food for thought! You're amazing and so is all that you're doing!
Author note: Savings are a calculated average based on the author's own personal experience and survey of local research.
Christine is an integrative heatlh care specialist, medical journalist, food writer and business development consultant. Popularized by health care professionals and patients alike, her blog, Reaching Beyond Now features a socially conscious take on integrative medicine and the future of lifestyle design. Christine loves teaching people and families how to sustainably design health through food. Check out her latest endeavor, Garden Eats to learn more about seasonal kitchen gardening and medicinal culinary therapy.
Follow Christine at twitter here!
Posted in General, Nutrition, People, Things To Think About and tagged with cheap organic food, christine dionese, cost of health food, gardeneats, healthy food myths, organic food for elite, rising cost of health food, why health food so expensive, why organic food so expensive, why pay more for organic.
March 29, 2011 by Juli Novotny.


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More than 125 achievements in last two years- Coalition Govt. boasts
Two years after entering office after a slim victory at the May 11, 2015 polls, vowing reforms to reduce corruption and waste, the Coalition Government believes it has done well.
Yesterday, the administration made it clear that it has more than 125 things that it has achieved, including lowering the Berbice Bridge tolls, a cleaner city, holding Local Government Elections in more than two decades, less piracy and more transparency.
In a two-page spread published in yesterday's edition of this newspaper, the coalition, which comprises A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), insisted that Guyana is "moving forward".
With the region facing tough times amidst a downturn in the world's commodity market, Guyana has not been immune from the shocks. Last year, export earnings fell by US$30M forcing the administration to release foreign currency to stabilize the rates.
Barbados, Trinidad and Suriname have been coming to Guyana for the precious US dollars. Central Bank has since halted purchases of the currencies from the first two countries.
Malaysian-owned Barama Company Limited has announced a scaling back of operations giving up its 1.6 million hectares of forests, further compounding the woes in the sector.
With the introduction of new anti-money legislation and tougher scrutiny from commercial banks, Government has been facing pressure to find ways to steady an economy that was further buffeted by the problems in the sugar industry.
Almost $33 billion has been spent to bailout out the Guyana Sugar Corporation in the last two years.
The clampdown on fuel and the drug trade have also been affecting the underground economy.
The administration itself has been under pressure for a number of things, including the parking meter project for the city, VAT on private education and the closure of a number of sugar estates.
The administration pointed out yesterday that it has introduced buses that offer free transportation to school children, paved the way for 4G internet for smartphones, rekindled pride in the country and lowered the crime rate.
There has been an increase in salaries for public servants and almost 70,000 persons are exempted from income tax.
On the labour front, collective bargaining has been restored with reduced house lot costs, better drainage and irrigation, and more pumps have been installed.
NEW TELECOMS LAWS
After a few years of being in limbo, new telecoms laws have finally been passed paving the way for new players to enter and compete in the market. More than 98,000 citizens are provided with free internet with two community radios – in Lethem and Mabaruma – launched. Several more are under construction. Also launched were three townships.
With several questionable bank accounts lying around, the coalition also gave itself a pat on the back for restoring billions of dollars from these phantom accounts to the Treasury.
Measures have been introduced to make newer cars more affordable with lesser duties being charged.
With the VAT threshold increased to $15M, several items have also been zero-rated.
On the financial side, VAT has been reduced to 14 percent from 16 percent; with the highest gold declaration met at the end of 2016.
The administration is also proud of the JOF Haynes Law School of the Americas that it has launched and the formulation of the Petroleum Commission Bill of Guyana.
In addition to the banning of Styrofoam, miners have benefitted from more lands and there is now a permanent home for the Bureau of Statistics.
The achievements also included the restoration of professionalism in the public service and government being taken to the people through more outreaches.
In the city and its environs the age-old problem of non-working fire hydrants are being fixed- more than 400 of them have been rehabilitated.
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
With respect to updating the country's laws, work has started to reform the Constitution with one key report already completed.
During the two years, under the coalition, there has been a 38 percent in the minimum wage; a review of the Integrity legislation for public officials, rehabilitation of the Mazaruni prisons and a successful gun amnesty programme.
A Code of Conduct for public officials has also been completed and dozens of state boards reconstituted.
Several ICT hubs have also been launched in the hinterland with the first-ever Hackathon hosted for budding programmers.
There have been critical repairs to key highways including the East Bank, Soesdyke/Linden, and Corentyne.
Two aging ferries have been given another lease on life – Lady Northcote and MV Kimbia with the North West, Region One route now more dependable.
(Continued on page 31)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Eye Of The Stygian Witches
28.09.2018 (CD) & 19.10.2018 (LP)
After the successful re-release of the first two ASHBURY albums, High Roller Records is proud to announce the band's brand new studio record »Eye Of The Stygian Witches«!
ASHBURY from Tuscon in Arizona are one of the biggest "re-discoveries" of obscure eighties hard rock from America. The band, led by brothers Randy and Rob Davis, did originally record two very hard to find albums: »Endless Skies« in 1983 and the (belated) follow-up »Something Funny Going On« (issued in 2010).
Although mostly written right after the release of »Endless Skies« in 1983, it took decades for the follow-up »Something Funny Going On« to see the light of day. When it finally happened, the actual release of »Something Funny Going On« seemed to come quite out of the blue.
ASHBURY appeared at the prestigious "Keep It True" festival in 2015 gaining a fanatical following in Germany as a result.
The band's new studio album is called »Eye Of The Stygian Witches«. Rob Davis (lead guitar, vocals) explains: "The album has been a very long time coming actually. Randy and I started work on this back in 2009, recording demo versions of the new songs 'End Of All Time' and others. This is an album we have wanted to get to the fans for quite some time. It seemed fitting to release it on CD in Europe at the same time we are there to headline the 'Harder Than Steel Festival' in September 2018.
If you will, then »Eye Of The Stygian Witches« is another "typical" ASHBURY album in the sense that musically it is again a mixture of harder rock songs ("End Of All Time"), some quiet acoustic numbers ("Summer Fades Away"), instrumentals ("Celtic Cross") and some hard rock/proto-metal compositions (for example the monumental "Eye Of The Stygian Witches" plus "Faceless Waters"). The band thinks so too: "That is the perfect description of the album! An argument could be made that the 'typical' ASHBURY album is exactly what Randy and Rob will deliver, if they stay true to the music and their own songwriting."
1. End Of All Time
2. Good Guitar
3. Summer Fades Away
4. Celtic Cross
5. Waited So Long
6. Out Of The Blue
7. Faceless Waters
8. Searchin'
9. Amber Glass
10. Eye Of The Stygian Witches
11. All My Memories
Randy Davis - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Rob Davis - Vocals, Acoustic guitar
John Bujak - Guitars, Harmony Vocals
Joey Moreno - Bass
John Gimmler - Drums
Eddie Hosmer - Bass


you'll need to prevent confusing coffee acidity with acid reflux. The acidity in coffee is a lot more of a feeling of enjoyment because it coasts by your mouth while acid reflux is caused by a lot of acid being contained in your stomach.
While drinking too much coffee does cause acidity due to the presence of caffeine in the coffee, you might certainly face discomfort inside your stomach in the event you match your coffee drinks with too much alcohol, citric juice, spicy foods and also deep-fried delicacies. The top acidity levels inside your stomach due to high degrees of caffeine might cause your lower esophageal sphincter or LES muscles to relax, which in turn will grant stomach acids and foods to go back in your esophagus or food pipe. A balanced diet and frequent exercise may also help to curtail acidity in the end.
It is thereby a mix of acidity-causing foods and drinks that contribute to stomach acidity and if you simply drink strong coffee without consuming fried or spicy foods then you definitely might need to lessen your coffee cups or perhaps shift to decaf coffee. You could pop an antacid to temporarily stop your acid reflux problem but if the problem persists then a trip to your physician is advisable.
Decaffeinated coffee has almost the same taste as regular coffee but minus almost all of the caffeine. Nonetheless, you will need to enhance your taste buds to consume this form of coffee. However, newer decaf processes guarantee better tasting coffee with only trace degrees of caffeine. If you don't have stomach acidity then you should definitely learn more about coffee acidity so that you can brew coffee drinks made with the absolute best coffee beans roasted to perfection.
The acidity in coffee beans has nothing at all to do with stomach acidity and it's linked to your taste buds that feel the enjoyable taste of coffee as it goes by by way of your mouth. This acidity will depend on the method of processing used on your coffee beans. Hence, a wet process will show you with higher acidity in coffee such as Kenya and Ethiopia beans whereas a dry process will provide for low coffee acidity just like java and Sumatran beans. Once more, acidity in coffee beans may also go down if you go in for a dark roast as that could remove the majority of the moisture from the beans and remain high in low roast coffee beans. You can have a fun time testing different acidity levels in your coffee beans to be able to come up with a tempting aroma and taste that does not leave a bitter aftertaste inside your mouth.
Drinking coffee may cause acid reflux if you drink way too many cups in a day or pump in alcohol and spicy foods together with that coffee whilst sprinkling it with stress. You could shift to decaf coffee if you'd like to reduce your problems. However coffee acidity associated with coffee beans is a different matter altogether and perfecting these acidity levels will help you to enjoy your coffee drink to the fullest.


Marketing and sales operations professionals, we can help you stop your data headaches! We've beefed up our new self-service data integration tool, ProgressEasyl, part of the Progress Pacific PaaS platform, to make it even easier for you to gain insight into customer data scattered across sales and marketing applications.
What exactly does that mean? Well, until recently, unlocking on-premise customer data from a cloud-based solution has been a major challenge driving many problems for businesses. But, not anymore! Today we announced Easyl's new capabilities that completely defeat this problem by allowing you to integrate both on-premise and cloud data, without having to make any network changes.
We understand your need for greater business agility, better customer insights and up-to-date reporting on data from what is an insane number of CRM, marketing automation and other systems these days. But Easyl dramatically simplifies that process of securely combining, cleaning, and collaborating on data, so you can make better business decisions without having to spend hours/days of your time building reports and dashboards.
As John Goodson, our Chief Product Officer, explains it, "The number of applications that businesses rely on for their decision making is exploding. Whether it's sales data, customer lists or lead flows, organizations of all sizes have multiple, ever-changing data sources they need to consolidate, analyze and report on in order to make the best decisions. With the Progress Easyl solution, none of these applications are an island anymore."
Do we have you saying, "I want to check out this tool," yet?
Join us at SiriusDecisions Summit 2014 this Wednesday in Orlando, FL! Come straight over to booth #51 and we'll answer all your questions about Easyl, as well as demo the product for you!
If you're unable to attend, then take advantage of our free 30-day trial right from your desk. All you have to do is click here and sign up!


With its patent leather dash and fenders this vehicle is very classy. It comes with a full fifth wheel, hydraulic brakes, and a stylish storage box. Its fold down top is available in straight or bonnet style. Seats four (two adults and two children) in the back with the driver in the front.


( C. maxima) 105 days. Attractive, very flat, pure white pumpkins that are unique and tasty. Very sweet orange flesh is perfect for pies and baking. A wonderful decorating and eating variety that was historically popular in South Africa and was named for the Dutch Boers who were once the colonial power. We are glad to finally have seeds for this rare treasure. Fruit can grow to 30 lbs.
I grew these last year for the first time and they were among the first squash ready in my garden. We have a shorter season in Massachusetts but they did well anyways.
I had about a 100% germinate rate. They grew fast and were prolific. I had a really bad white flie infestation which damaged the vines, but I still brought in almost 20 pumpkins. Some were not quite ripe, but the plants were dying from the white flies. I ask used them to make pies and they were delicious. They also made beautiful table decorations.
This is one of the pumpkins that produced like crazy! I had so many giant, flat white pumpkins growing everywhere, and the circumstances weren't all that great. It grew beneath corn plants that shaded the other pumpkin varieties which didn't grow. These had no problem. The vines went crazy! And they are such beautiful, perfect pumpkins. They were so pretty on display on my front porch in the autumn. Love them. Will grow again!
This is a wonderful winter squash. I grow many and prefer maximas. This is among my favorites, along with Sweetmeat, Lower Salmon River. This is a beautiful squash. The flesh is sweet, dry and very, very firm (holding its shape well even when fully cooked). It is large and has very thick flesh and small seed cavity. Good storing and eating. Grow it, preserve it. Cheers!


Description: This train‑the‑trainer course includes the complete delivery of the Tactical Medical for Patrol Officers course of study as well as instructional techniques and methodology for delivering the course, scenario development, safety protocols and procedures, graded participant teach‑backs, graded skills assessments, remediation, course critiques, and evaluations. Participants are provided with all lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, student manuals, and related courseware so that they are immediately prepared to deliver the Tactical Medical for Patrol Officers course at their home agency.
2) Each class is required to be filled with sworn state and local law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel from multiple agencies. In the event that federal or military personnel are inquiring about registering, and you have given priority to state/local officers, you are allowed up to 3 slots to approve for federal/military. These federal/military students must not take seats from state or local officers.
For questions specific to First Responder Medical courses, please contact your ALERRT Regional Manager directly.


With the defeat of Proposition 6, California has renewed its commitment to rebuilding our roads, bridges, and highways while creating tens of thousands of jobs. Prop. 6 had been placed on the 2018 election ballot to repeal a 12-cent tax on gasoline which the Legislature enacted last year to fund urgently needed road repair and other infrastructure improvements. By rejecting the repeal of this tax, the voters have put their faith in us, their elected representatives, to responsibly and prudently apply this funding to its best and most transparent uses in the public interest.
It is paramount that we honor that trust by reining in another cost at the gas pump – which is far bigger and far less accountable than the gas tax. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is proposing a new regulation that may impose skyrocketing costs on Californians' fuel, energy, and other necessities. In fact, economists estimate CARB's proposal will add more than a dollar to the cost of a gallon of gas – more than nine times greater than the gas tax we just fought an election over.
Click here to read the article on The Mercury News.


From 13 December 2014, food businesses in the UK will have to follow new rules in labelling pre-packed foods and non-prepacked (loose) foods. This is part of the European Union Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU FIC) coming into force.
You will need to declare the inclusion of any one of the 14 allergens to customers in a variety of possible ways, such as on menus and chalkboards, clear signposting to where the information can be obtained and through oral communication. The allergen information should be accurate, consistent and verifiable upon challenge (for example, when asked by a consumer or a local authority food safety officer).
Further information is in the PDF, which can be downloaded below.


Are you looking for investors to finance the growth of your company, do you want to learn how to deliver a powerful pitch to investors and do you want to enhance your leadership skills? Then join Global Investor Forum: Leadership and Venture Growth on 13-14 February 2019 in Rotterdam.
The program consists of two intensive and interactive days and is organized together with Prof. Marianne van der Steen and Main Partner Health~Holland. The first day – 13 February 2019 – enables you to develop your leadership skills, provides you with insights for venture growth and helps you to prepare your investment pitch. The second day – 14 February 2019 – will be organized in conjunction with Innovation for Health, the leading conference for innovators in Health & Life Sciences. Here you can connect with investors in one-on-one settings and pitch your company to the audience. The programme will be concluded with a special VIP CEO-Investor Dinner, where you can network with investors in an exclusive setting.
Deadline to sign-up for the pitches is 30 November 2018. Sign-up soon as places are limited!


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University of Queensland launches Hype Spin Lab Accelerator for sportstech startups
News » News & Analysis » University of Queensland launches Hype Spin Lab Accelerator for sportstech startups
Mat Beeche - November 23, 2017 2 MIN READ
Sport. It has long held a special place for most individuals living in this great nation of ours, and so it should – we have some of the best in the world and for our size and population always tend to hold our own when it comes to global sporting events like the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
In 2016 / 2017 over $4.5 billion was invested in sports tech globally – that spend includes wearables, smart stadiums and technologies that support the health and safety of players and fans.
At the moment Amir Raveh, CEO of HYPE Foundation, is in Australia to launch HYPE Spin Lab in partnership with the University of Queensland.
HYPE, in a relatively short amount of time, has become the fastest growing global ecosystem for sports innovation, boasting more than 2000 sports and technology brand leaders, 26,000 members and 8000 sport startups, and 500 investors as part of its global community.
The HYPE SPIN Lab concept was first launched in Spain at the home ground of global football giants Barcelona FC and has expanded globally from there.
Each accelerator program runs in conjunction to an upcoming major sporting event such as the World Cup, NFL Draft, or Commonwealth Games, as is the case with this first Australia-based program. The cohort will pitch to investors and key industry decision makers at a sports innovation event to be held during the games, which take place on the Gold Coast early next year.
A winner will be chosen by a panel of judges at the pitch event, and they will receive $25,000 along with worldwide exposure to major sports brands, investors and mentors.
The accelerator program is equity-free and is targeted towards startups that are entering the scaleup phase of their business rather than early stage ideas.
The program is also delivered online with around three to four key events throughout the program that require in-person attendance. For those living interstate or in regional Australia who are successful applicants there will be travel assistance provided to attend
Sportstech innovation is going to be one of the more prominent areas of tech in Australia quite soon with a number of startups around the country currently working on tech that is changing the way athletes are trained, the way fans interact and creating opportunities for never before seen products and business models.
UQ SPIN Lab will select its first intake after the application period of 1 November to 15 December. Applications are open until December 15, 2017 with the program commencing in early 2018.
Interested startups can apply here: HYPE SPIN Lab – Apply.
Featured Image : The UQ HYPE SPIN Lab team | Source : Provided
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Tags AcceleratorAmir RavehCommonwealth GamesEquityHype FoundationiLabscaleupssportSportsTechstartupstechUniversity of QLD


My research lies in the areas of General Relativity and Gravitation. I am very interested in exact solutions of general relativity, particularly those describing black holes. More recently, I have been focussing on black holes and black rings in higher dimensions.
Generalized planar black holes and the holography of hydrodynamic shear, B. McInnes and E. Teo, Nucl. Phys. B, 878 (2014) 186.
Balanced electric-magnetic dihole in Kaluza-Klein theory, Y. Chen and E. Teo, Journal of High Energy Physics, 09 (2012) 085.
A doubly rotating black ring with dipole charge, Y. Chen, K. Hong and E. Teo, Journal of High Energy Physics, 06 (2012) 148.
Unbalanced Pomeransky-Sen'kov black ring, Y. Chen, K. Hong and E. Teo, Physical Review D, 84 (2011) 084030.
Black holes on gravitational instantons, Y. Chen and E. Teo, Nuclear Physics B, 850 (2011) 253-272.
Rod-structure classification of gravitational instantons with U(1)xU(1) isometry, Y. Chen and E. Teo, Nuclear Physics B, 838 (2010) 207-237.


In my own psychotherapy practice I have worked with many people who have struggled to forgive. It was their firm belief that to hold onto their anger and resentment in some way served them better than to let go of it.
A friend and colleague of mine once shared with me a curious event that took place many years ago in his consulting room between himself and a client. Taking a momentary well earned respite from his work load that day, one of his client's suddenly burst into his room, marched up to where he was sitting and shouted into his face, "your fired!" My friend, somewhat stunned, asked why. The reply came, "it's because of you I'm beginning to forgive my husband." He never saw her again.
Why do we, like my friend's client, prefer to nourish the rage within us, rather than relinquish it through forgiveness, and, as was the case for Eric Lomax, subsequently be liberated from it's grip?
The reasons are complex. Forgiving someone who has hurt us may be completely off our radar. It stands to reason – we argue – by not forgiving, one has a sense of empowerment over the perpetrator. It may even stop bad things from ever happening to us again. Or perhaps we feel so comfortable with our victim role that we can't give up something that is integral to our self-definition. Or maybe it's impossible to forgive evil.
The essential thing to realize, however, is that when we do forgive, it is for ourselves that we are doing it – not for the other person. Webster's Dictionary defines forgiveness this way – 'forgive: a verb meaning "to give up resentment against or desire to punish." ' By forgiving we are getting rid of old baggage and moving forwards with our lives. It cannot change the past, but it can certainly influence our future for the good.
Forgiveness is not a way of forgetting the past, nor minimizing the hurt. Indeed, we can learn from the past to avoid victimization in the future. Nor is it a way of excusing the perpetrator. The person responsible for the hurt has to deal with his/her own guilt. The act of forgiveness does not mean that we sacrifice anything or let go of our self-esteem. In fact it means the opposite. We assert that we are strong and are emancipated from our role as victim – it is a way of announcing our integrity.
So we should ask ourselves this question – if holding on to the hurt means a life defined by our unresolved anger, poor self-esteem and basic trust issues, aren't we continuing to empower the perpetrator? If every time 'that' person's name is mentioned, we fly into a silent rage, or suffer a headache, aren't we still experiencing the fallout of being hurt? Isn't it time to learn to forgive and to emancipate ourselves from being a hostage to our feelings, with a view to reclaiming our lives for oursleves?
References: Psychologies Magazine, UK edition, January 2014.


such sweet longing…my heart echoes your words…and the words 'each new in You dressed in blue'…will the day be blue? or maybe You? or maybe even the seeker? No matter…there is only the single aspiration, the inner breath of a flute…longing. Blessings and much love to you, my dearest, sweet soul-friend!
In Hinduism, we do believe like many other religions in one formless omnipotent omnipresent God. But we also believe this Supreme Divinity appears in form — kind of like how Catholics worship Jesus, as the son of God….so we have many forms of God and we love to adore Them in different ways. My Divine Beloved in Blue — symbolizing eternal expansiveness. So the last line – Drenched in Blue — referred to being drenched in the Blueness of my Lord….not blue in the way we use in English. Sorry, i hope this makes some sense, my sweeeet travelling companion. And shouldn't you be sleeping now? Sending you prayers for good rest and a beautiful day tomorrow.
Yes, I took 'blue' to mean something like expansiveness, so fear not. And I am sleeping much better, thank you sweet Krishnapriya, with much more energy when I need. Blessings of sweet smiles to you, with hugs galore and a yellow butterfly!
So happy to hear that! Take care of yourself precious singing child. Much love and dancing hearts.
I feel you in my cells – Thank You – I haven't been here in many days and what a way to reconnect in the New Year! Happy New Year!
Thank you for coming by here – your visits bring so much light and encouragement. Grateful and happy.
To dance to the tune of his flute…ah… absolute divine bliss. Thathastu to this lovely wish Krishnapriya!
Infinite is the strength of divinity.🙏 How beautiful it is when our aspirations become inspirations to the world at large ❤.


The successful applicant will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service certification.
Applications to be received by 12 noon on Monday 10th December 2018. Applications will not be accepted after this time and date.
Please download the application form and job description from the Romani Cultural & Arts Company website here.


The ISL29030A is an integrated ambient and infrared light-to-digital converter with a built-in IR LED driver and I2 C Interface (SMBus Compatible). This device uses two independent ADCs for concurrently measuring ambient light and proximity in parallel. The flexible interrupt scheme is designed for minimal microcontroller utilization.
For ambient light sensor (ALS) data conversions, an ADC converts photodiode current (with a light sensitivity range of 2000 lux) in 100ms per sample. The ADC rejects 50Hz/60Hz flicker noise caused by artificial light sources. The IALS pin provides an analog output current proportional to the measured light (420μA FSR).
For proximity sensor (Prox) data conversions, the built-in driver turns on an external infrared LED, and the proximity sensor ADC converts the reflected IR intensity to digital. This ADC rejects ambient IR noise (such as sunlight) and has a 540μs conversion time.
The ISL29030A provides low-power operation of the ALS and proximity sensing, with a typical 138μA normal operation current (110μA for sensors and internal circuitry; ~28μA for external LED, with 220mA current pulses for a net 100μs, repeating every 800ms or under).
The ISL29030A uses both a hardware pin and software bits to indicate an interrupt event has occurred. An ALS interrupt is defined as a measurement that is outside a set window. A proximity interrupt is defined as a measurement over a threshold limit. The user can configure the device so that ALS and proximity interrupts occur simultaneously, up to 16 times in a row, before the interrupt pin is activated.
The ISL29030A is designed to operate at 2.25V to 3.63V over the -40°C to +85°C ambient temperature range. It is packaged in a clear, lead-free 8 lead ODFN package.