Blue Sargent is a cursed girl. For as long as she can remember, the psychics of Henrietta have all been in consensus: that when she kisses her true love, he will die. Blue is so used to the idea it doesn't frighten her any more – until she sees the ghost of a boy who is yet to die, and it all becomes very real. The boy's name is Gansey. He is a student at the elite private school of Agliony, and together with his friends, is on the trail of a fantastical discovery. When his path intersects with Blue's, events are set in motion that will change all their lives.
I am not yet sure whether I like this book or not, and I won't be sure until the series is complete. If it takes the direction I expect it will, I will be extremely disappointed, because 'fate' is an infuriating trump card that damages both plot and character. If it goes the way I hope it will, subverting the obvious rules, I will be delighted. The plot is slow-moving but well written, and there are several impressive twists that left me very interested to see what happens in book two, The Dream Thieves.
Time for a more familiar tale of witches and appalling parenting! 'Hansel and Gretel' is one of the usual suspects in children's anthologies and even those who don't read fairy tales will probably recognise the story from cultural osmosis. This version may surprise you, however. It begins when a poor woodcutter hears crying above his head and discovers a toddler trapped up a tree, having been abducted and then dropped by an overly ambitious vulture. The woodcutter rescues the girl. Taking her home and naming her Gretel, he raises her as a sister for his young son Hansel.
This philanthropic streak is short-lived. When poverty has driven the family to the brink of starvation, the woodcutter's wife comes up with a plan: to take the children out into the wood and leave them there to live or die on their own. Her husband is horrified, but hunger overrides affection and at last he agrees. Fortunately for the children, they are lying awake that night and hear their parents planning. Gretel begins to cry, but Hansel creeps outside and fills his pockets with small white pebbles. In the morning, called to accompany his father and sister into the forest, he leaves behind a trail of stones.
The children are brought deep into the wood and left by a fire while the woodcutter goes about his work. They wait patiently, thinking they hear his axe close by, but it is in fact a trick; he has tied a stick in a tree so that it bangs about in the wind and sounds like the blows of an axe. Night falls, and he never comes back. The children have been left behind.
Hansel, however, was prepared. When the moon rises, its light catches on the trail of white pebbles and the children follow it home. Their parents welcome them – neither wishes to admit to attempted abandonment – but their mother has not given up on her plan, and the children know it. When another trip into the forest is proposed Hansel tries to collect more pebbles, but the door has been locked. Instead, he has to use precious crumbs from the small piece of bread that is expected to feed him for the day. As before, their father builds a fire and leaves them beside it. The children share Gretel's bread and wait for moonrise to reveal the trail.
Unfortunately, it has already been found by the forest's birds, and no trace remains. The children try to find their own way home, but are soon utterly lost. For three days they wander, slowly starving, until on the afternoon of the third day they find a cottage in the middle of the wood. To their amazement, it is edible architecture – walls of bread, a roof of cake, and windows of sugar. Not much use against the elements, but tailor-made to attract ravenous little children. Hansel and Gretel rip mouthfuls from the house, filling their stomachs for the first time in far, far too long.
Every day she goes out to the cage to squeeze Hansel's hand and judge if he's ready to eat. After several weeks he has not reached a satisfactory size, but she doesn't want to wait any more and orders Gretel to light the oven. She then demands that the little girl climb inside to test whether it is hot enough to cook. It's almost unbearable in the oven, but Gretel procrastinates for as long as she can, climbing in and out and declaring each time it's not yet really hot. The witch grows suspicious and crawls inside to see for herself. Gretel seizes her chance, slamming the door shut on her and bolting it. She does not wait to hear the witch's screams, racing out instead to free her brother.
They return inside only to strip the cottage of its valuables – the witch has a surprisingly impressive jewellery collection, and a magic wand to boot – before taking to the road. On the way they meet with a second old woman whom they recognise from experience as a wicked fairy. Cutting across the fields, they gain a headstart, but the fairy puts on magic boots that carry her miles at a step and quickly gains on them.
Gretel takes up the stolen wand. She transforms her brother into a lake and herself into a swan. The fairy tries to coax her to the lake's edge, but Gretel remains out of reach and the fairy eventually gives up in disgust. Gretel returns herself and Hansel back into their real shapes and they continue their journey through the night.
At dawn, she transfigures herself into a rose, and Hansel sits by her playing a flute. As expected, the fairy is back on their trail. She pretends to be a harmless passerby, asking Hansel if she might pluck his rose. The speed with which he agrees is a clue to his real intent. Hansel didn't have a flute before he raided the witch's house.
This is the bit where everything gets really weird, in case you couldn't already tell.
Hansel goes away to get help and gets sidetracked with a different girl. Apparently he's old enough for that particular type of unreliability now. Gretel waits and waits, abandoned all over again by the one person she thought she could trust. At length she transforms herself into a very melancholic daisy. A passing shepherd spies the flower and takes it home, accidentally acquiring an invisible housekeeper.
When he wakes, his home has been cleaned. When he comes home from work, his dinner is waiting. Though pleased by his good luck, he's also a little freaked out and consults a wisewoman who lives nearby. She advises him to wake early the next day and keep watch. If anything unexpected stirs, he must throw a white cloth over it and the magic will stop. Gretel could so have used that knowledge not long ago.
The shepherd does as he is told. Seeing his daisy floating about in a very un-daisy-like way, he throws the cloth over it and discovers it is really a very houseproud girl. He asks her to marry him and she says no, at least in part because she's still waiting on Hansel. Who's gone off and got himself engaged to this other girl, because he's useless.
In this kingdom it's traditional for all the unmarried girls to go to weddings and sing. When she hears about Hansel's betrayal, Gretel accompanies the others, and the moment he hears her voice he has an abrupt change of heart, switching brides mid-ceremony. So Gretel marries her adopted brother and never sees her traitorous adopted parents again. Yay. I'm sure she'll be fine.
How anyone ever read this story and thought, 'perfect for impressionable little children!', I'm not sure. Certainly it's changed enormously over time into a more palatable format, but you can't really get past the core components that make this story so terrifying: parental betrayal, cannibalism, murder. There are a few short story retellings that play on those elements, including Catherynne M. Valente's 'A Delicate Architecture' (from the anthology Troll's Eye View, reprinted in To Spin a Darker Stair) and Kim Wilkins' 'The Forest' (from Dreaming Again). There's even a medieval steampunk horror movie – 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters', which is…about what you might expect from the title, with a diabetic Hansel and battle-hardened Gretel handling their PTSD by executing witches. There are no daisies involved.
It's nearly Christmas and Anita Blake is feeling anything but jolly. She may be in love with her werewolf boyfriend Richard, but she doesn't trust him; she definitely doesn't trust the vampire master of the city Jean-Claude, and he's pushing hard against her boundaries. Anita could use some time away from their issues, and gets it in the form of a brand new police investigation. There's someone – or something – on the loose with a grudge against shapeshifters. And just to complete the carnival, Death is coming to town.
This is a series that grows and changes with each instalment. The writing has a delightfully cynical edge, the world building is excellent, and while I don't always like the situations Anita is forced into, I always like her. The series has reached the romantic triangle I was hoping it would avoid, and I dislike it every bit as much as I thought I would, but Anita's attitude is refreshingly grumpy. Also, this book has Edward, who improves everything. 'Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter' began with Guilty Pleasures; the fifth book is Bloody Bones.
This Danish story, from Ruth Manning-Sanders' collection A Book of Witches, introduces us to a family of twelve sons, eleven of whom are big, blokey types while the twelfth, Esben, is small and thin. Him being the youngest, you might not consider that too surprising, but his father and brothers treat any physical frailty like a disease they're determined not to catch. The only member of the family who has any time for Esben is his mother, so he spends most of his time helping her in the house while the older boys work for their father in the fields.
One day, they decide to leave en masse and seek their fortunes. Losing eleven farm labourers at once is a hell of a blow to the ageing farmer, especially as they all expect to be equipped with horses for the journey, but he has done well enough to afford that, and a little extra money for the journey besides. Esben wants to go too, but the sudden departure of the farmer's other sons hasn't helped his youngest rise in the ranks. "If I could have kept your brothers at home and sent you away, it would have been better for me in my old age," he declares, with withering bluntness.
Esben goes quietly into the woods and cuts himself a branch. He models it into the rough outline of a horse, and when he is satisfied with it he sings, "Fly quick, my little stick, carry me into the world." The stick kicks off on twig legs, carrying him away in pursuit of his brothers.
They have ridden all day and by nightfall have reached a vast forest. There is only one house in sight, so that's where they ask for shelter. Having eleven large men descend on you all at once would bother most people, I think, but the owner of this house is no ordinary old lady. She is a witch, and she has plans.
She also has thirteen daughters, who flirt cheerfully with the brothers while the witch makes supper, and then everybody goes to bed. In the same room. Which is large enough to be furnished with twenty four beds…which isn't weird at all. The brothers, who do not seem terribly bright, go straight to sleep.
Not long afterwards, Esben arrives on his stick horse and sneaks inside. Based on an inexplicable hunch, he swaps his brothers' nightcaps for those worn by eleven of the witch's daughters, then hides under a bed. Soon the witch comes into the room with an axe. It's too dark to see who occupies which bed, and to light a lamp does not suit her purposes, so she tries to guess from feel. She leaves the room believing she has beheaded her eleven guests. Thanks to Esben's intervention, she has instead killed her own daughters.
When he is sure the witch has gone to sleep, Esben gets up and wakens his brothers, telling them to flee. They aren't grateful, but they go, and he goes with them. In the morning they cross a river and reach a palace, where they are taken into service as stablehands. Esben, being young and little, is dismissed as useless. His brothers don't speak up for him; the cook, however, thinks he's funny and feeds him scraps. As a result he goes mostly unnoticed, which his brothers do not – they catch the attention of a vicious-tempered knight who, having won the king's favour, is using it to wreck the lives of anyone he happens not to like. When the brothers refuse to defer to him, he goes to the king and tells him they know how to find a gold and silver dove. But they won't get it unless threatened with death.
The king swallows the story effortlessly. Either the brothers give him the dove or they give him their heads. Hearing of the ultimatum, Esben wheedles himself a bag of dried peas and returns to the witch's house on his stick horse. Sure enough, she has the bird, and he coaxes it off the roof with the peas. The moment it flutters down he stuffs it in a sack. Alerted by the rattle of his stick horse in the courtyard, the witch comes running out, calling him by name. "Was it you that made me kill my eleven daughters?" she shouts. "Yes!" Esben replies, brutally honest, and rides away before she can reach him.
The dove wins the brothers much favour with the king, and Esben none at all. The knight who stumped up the task in the first place is disgusted at how it turned out and quickly comes up with a harder goal – to produce a boar with silver and gold bristles. He really has a thing for that colour scheme. The brothers, of course, haven't the slightest idea how to get hold of such a creature, but the king sets his heart on it and tosses out axe-related threats that end up at Esben's ear. The boy quietly slips away, back to the witch's cottage with a bag of malt. He uses this to entice the boar (because naturally, she has one) into a sack. He then rides away, with the witch running and shrieking behind him.
Despite brush-offs from his brothers, who appear to think their good fortune comes out of thin air, Esben learns of the latest task and pays yet another visit to the witch's house, this time bringing a bushel of salt. He arrives at nightfall and climbs down the chimney so that he can search – but she, unlike his brothers, has learned from previous experience and hidden it well. At last Esben crawls into the oven to rest in concealment, and it's a good thing he does, because the witch wakes up in the night with a craving for porridge. She sends one of her two remaining daughters to make it. Her specification is that there must be no salt in the dish, but while the girl is busy in the larder Esben sneaks out of the oven and tosses the whole bushel of salt into the pot.
Naturally, this meal does not suit the witch at all. There is no water in the house to make a second pot, so she is forced to fetch the magical lamp so that her daughter can go out to the well. Esben follows the girl, pushes her in, and takes the lamp for himself. Hearing her daughter's screams, the witch comes running to pull her out and sees Esben disappearing on his stick horse, but all her outrage can't bring him back.
Having completed three tasks – well, having let Esben complete them – you might think the brothers would now be safe, but quite soon the king has a passionate need for a coverlet sewn over with bells that can be heard in eight kingdoms. The witch, of course, has that in her keeping too. As soon as Esben lays a hand on it, however, the bells ring out, and she finally catches him. Showing tremendous self-restraint, she does not rip him apart on the spot; instead, she calls to her youngest daughter, and together they lock him in a dark room. There he will stay until he is fat enough to eat. To make sure he gains enough weight, she sets him a strict diet of nuts and cream, delivered by the thirteenth girl.
Despite the fact that Esben arranged the deaths of her eleven sisters and pushed the twelfth down a well, this daughter takes a liking to him. When her mother wants his finger chopped off, so that she can tell whether he's fat enough yet, the girl wraps a nail in silk and offers that instead, buying him more time to think. In the end he has her give a roll of fat to the witch, convincing her he's ready to be roasted, but this takes place on the night of a witches' meeting and she must leave or be punished by her coven. She orders her daughter to prepare Esben in her stead. The girl is sad, but obedient – and Esben is cunning, tricking her into his cell and locking her there. He then runs upstairs to take the coverlet. Alerted by its ringing bells, the witch comes racing home. The sight of Esben galloping away enrages her so greatly that she…bursts into a million pieces of flint. As you do.
Esben has been away so long this time that his brothers have been imprisoned for their failure, with their executions scheduled for the next morning. So Esben takes the coverlet to the king himself, and reveals the whole story. Dismissing the slanderous knight from court, the king then offers all the brothers dukedoms, but they have finally realised what a fairweather patron he is and decide to go home to the farm instead. Piled high with gold and silver, they are welcomed home with open arms – even Esben, who only had to become a murderer and a thief to win his family's respect.
This is a rather confronting story, one I've never liked. The witch is certainly a terrible person, but to be tricked into killing her own children is a brutal plot twist and Esben never shows the smallest hint of regret at what he's done, even when the thirteenth sister treats him with such kindness. They are all capable of cruelty, youngest son and brothers, witch and daughters, king and knight. No one comes out of this one as a hero.
In the winter of 1789, Paris is a city bitter with poverty and despair. Aristocrats dance in jewelled shoes while their people starve. It is a time when one particular dealer of death is free at his work, and in one disastrous night his cards are laid down. A notorious nobleman's unloved daughter is summoned back to a household of lies. A magician is murdered in the middle of a lavish party. And a boy who can read minds predicts a rising tide of blood that will wash them all away. The question is, who will survive it?
This story of the French Revolution is a dark, enigmatic fantasy that is at the same time thoroughly grounded in its period. Gardner's writing is graceful and evocative, but the plot is less successful – it branches off in directions that are abruptly curtailed, relies too heavily on coincidence, under-utilises key characters and leaves too many loose ends for my satisfaction, though the latter may be resolved in the sequel, The Silver Blades.
This week's story comes from The Japanese Fairy Book, collected by Yei Theodora Ozaki. Many travellers have disappeared on the plain of Adachigahara, and rumour spreads of a terrible goblin that lures the unwary to their deaths. Not unexpectedly, people begin to avoid the spot. One Buddhist pilgrim is unfortunate enough not to get the memo and happens to reach the plain just as the sun is setting. Tired, hungry and cold, he walks for hours before spotting a light through a copse of trees. It belongs to a tumbledown cottage, which in turn belongs to an elderly woman. She sits just inside the door, spinning busily. When appealed to by the pilgrim for a night's lodging, she reluctantly permits him inside.
After her initial reserve, she becomes very hospitable, ushering her guest solicitously close to the fire and whipping up supper for them both. The pilgrim is delighted at his luck. When the fire begins to die down he offers to go out and fetch more wood, but the old lady insists on doing it herself. Her only requirement is that he stay where he is and not go poking about the house while she's gone. Whatever else he does, he must not look into the inner room.
Until then he had not even thought of looking in that room, but now of course that's exactly what he wants to do. For a long time he remains obediently still, but the old lady is away so long that at last he can't resist. Creeping towards the forbidden room, he pushes the door and peers inside.
Inside is a slaughterhouse. The walls are splashed with blood, the floor heaped with human bones. The smell alone strikes the pilgrim with such force that he faints, and despite his terror, for some time he is in such a state of shock he can't move. Coming to himself at last, he snatches up his things and pelts out into the night.
He has not gone far when a voice calls out for him to stop. The old lady – or rather, the goblin – is on his trail. "Stop!" she cries. "Stop, you wicked man, why did you look into the forbidden room?" Her moral standards may be a bit skewed. On the kind of adrenaline rush only possible when you are being pursued by a carnivorous monster, the pilgrim powers across the plain, praying frantically, but still she gains. She is close enough now that he can see she is carrying a large, bloody carving knife.
Just when it seems she must finally catch him, the first rays of dawn break across the plain and the goblin disappears. The pilgrim gabbles grateful devotions and sets off for a different part of the country, where it is less probable he will be eaten.
I've written before about fairy tales in which husbands butcher their wives, but a female Bluebeard is far less common. It's worth noting, though, that there is not the same degree of intimacy in her association with the pilgrim, and that the story doesn't blame him for being fooled. In fact, the plot doesn't really hold together at all. First she almost refuses him lodging, then she leaves him for ages with the knowledge there's something hidden in her house. What did she expect to happen? Perhaps she was trying to quit cannibalism and simply could not resist an unsuspecting pilgrim when he arrived on her doorstep. At least she didn't try to marry him.
Vampirism is a good metaphor for abuse. Vampires, as they are popularly written, are charming and seductive, but they can drain the life out of you. It is in fact a comparison used to describe an unhappy marriage in the 2007BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.
Vampires are also a staple element in paranormal fantasy, where they are the blood-drinking undead. Herein lies the conflict: in fantasy, what might otherwise be a metaphor becomes a logical plot point. You don't need psychiatric treatment, there are actually demons in your house. Your estranged parents really are evil. Your boyfriend is not cheating on you, he's leading the double life of a superhero. To judge a character accurately, you have to take their context into account, and that context might have only the most tangential relationship to the normal world.
I am not remotely qualified for an in-depth discussion about abusive behaviours symptomatic in popular literature. I am a lifelong reader of speculative fiction who thinks psychological analysis of fantasy can be taken too far.
Yesterday, I encountered two articles which break down aspects of Stephenie Meyer's paranormal romance phenomenon Twilight. I found both well-reasoned, thought-provoking and intelligent. The personal experiences of Ms Mardoll are particularly saddening, and it's incredibly brave of her to write about them. I can absolutely understand how a book like Twilight might be triggering for her.
But I also disagree with both interpretations. Particularly when Mardoll starts describing Meyer's readership. Whilst theoretically defending them against the insultingly laughable idea that they all seek abusive relationships, she perpetuates the same idea: this book is bad. People who like it are naïve or in denial.
Longtime readers of this blog will know I've talked about my feelings on this subject before, and will realise how annoyed I am now. I like Twilight. I wouldn't count it as an all-time favourite, but I really enjoyed all four books and was interested enough to locate the draft of Midnight Sun, a reworking of the first book told from Edward's perspective, posted by Meyer online. Watching the movies introduced me to the music of Linkin Park and Paramore. I have good feelings for Twilight.
I'm also fed up to the back teeth with having to defend myself for that, but as I can, I will. So let's analyse this series from the angle I see it. Be warned, it will take a while.
Edward Cullen is incredibly fast and strong. He can read minds, even the minds of other vampires, allowing him to glimpse the future through his adoptive sister Alice, which makes him virtually omnipresent. He has been alive for almost a century and has good odds at outlasting modern civilisation as we know it. He has occupied that time by collecting languages like he collects CDs, learning an instrument and going through high school so many times that it's become a mindless chore. Oh, also, he's going to remain a stunningly attractive seventeen year old FOREVER.
This is because he is a vampire.
On the flipside, the only interactions he has with human beings are based around maintaining the deception that he's one of them, he lives with an adoptive family of superpowered recovering blood addicts, and is convinced God hates him. This is the context for his character. How do you expect him to behave?
Like a mind-blowingly arrogant jerk, actually. He's thoughtless, immature and stuck in an unnaturally extended adolescence, accustomed to thinking he's better than everyone else (because, superpowers) and that his judgement is infallible (because, omnipresence).
He's not alone, either. All Meyer's vampires behave this way. They are carnivorous gods in a world of oblivious mortals; it would be weird if they didn't. Edward is a different species to Bella, with the alien cultural rules that implies. His first reaction on meeting her is to think: how odd, why can't I read her mind? The next is: BLOOD. Edward spends the first class of their acquaintance fighting the urge to rip her throat out. He manages to resist, but it's a close thing. When the situation is explained to them, as seen in Midnight Sun, his family are concerned, not outraged. They are literally a drug addict's recovery group (Edward describes the lure of blood as being like a heroin addiction), offering ways for him to avoid falling off the wagon but accepting it's a very real possibility that he might.
Because they are vampires. Even relatively nice vampires have questionable consciences when it comes to human lives. By the standard of his contemporaries, it would be perfectly natural for Edward to abduct, murder and devour Bella within minutes of meeting her. Raised by his pacifistic mentor Carlisle, Edward doesn't want to do that – but at the same time, he really does.
This does not make it an okay thing. It's a really, really awful thing! It's also not a metaphor. To be a vampire means drinking blood; in Meyer's world, at least, there is no opting out.
This may be the first time in decades that Edward has been confused. He doesn't handle it well. He convinces himself not to kill Bella, but between her inexplicable unreadability, her mouthwatering scent and the amazing bad luck that dogs her everywhere, he becomes obsessive. His actions are, undeniably, stalkerish and unacceptable. Does it make sense, within his context? I think it does. Edward has a rigid personality. He's overprotective, judgemental, paternalistic, and completely out of his comfort zone in the modern human world. If Bella finds it hard to relate to people, Edward takes introversion to extraordinary lengths.
Still, being in an unusually enlightened position of knowing just how dangerous the world can be, Edward appoints himself as Bella's unlikely guardian angel. Is it an excuse to justify the stalking to himself? Probably. Is it useful? Hell, yes. Bella is often in danger. From Edward's perspective, she is as ephemeral as a butterfly. In consequence, once he decides to risk getting to know her, he wants to know EVERYTHING. She's the first person he's had to question in about a century, it's a bit exciting. He goes absurdly overboard.
As for Bella, he's this hot supernatural mystery man who frets about her safety and likes the same music. He's intelligent, generous to a fault, capable and willing to defend her from all harm. She gets on brilliantly with most of his family. Best of all, she could become a superpowered goddess too! She doesn't actually like being clumsy and disaster-prone; it's Edward who finds that endearingly unusual. Bella wants to be strong. She wants to be a vampire.
Some people, carrying the Mary Sue metaphor to an extreme, have labelled Bella as religious just because Stephenie Meyer is. They are wrong. Bella is a vague agnostic; she finds magic easier to believe in than hell. Edward is the religious one, and given that he was born in America in 1901, this should not be too surprising.
At the prospect of Bella turning into one of the damned undead, like himself, Edward falls into a flailing mess. He chooses to pretend he was never in love with her at all, hoping she'll hate him so much she'll be glad he's out of her life. Not content with dragging his family away from their home as part of his stupid plan, he then traumatises them by attempting suicide the only way a vampire can, by picking a fight with vampirical law enforcement. He gets it wrong in every single way he could, and goes on getting it wrong when he gets his relationship back together, first by trying to stop Bella seeing her werewolf friends, then by trying to make her abort their baby.
In no possible way are either of those things okay.
It's important to remember, though, that in both of the latter situations Bella is essentially courting suicide. Teenage werewolves are notoriously volatile, and the most probable explanation for her impossible pregnancy and its unnaturally swift progression is that she's carrying a monster for which her human body is completely unprepared. Edward, who has lived in the supernatural world a whole lot longer than her, has a set of cast-iron preconceptions that require systematic dismantling before he can believe this thing is not going to kill her. This is a world of extremes. Ordinary human problems, like messy break-ups and unplanned pregnancies, have a tendency to snowball into a carnival of death.
So Bella, who understands that but is willing to take the risk, recruits assistance from her support network to get her through the pregnancy. Edward was right; to all intents and purposes, it does kill her. Edward was wrong; by getting the timing just so, Bella keeps both her baby and her life. She takes that final step she's been dreaming of pretty much since she met him and becomes a vampire herself.
In Breaking Dawn she's finally Edward's physical equal, capable of defending herself against pretty much anything the world has to throw at her. Oh, and she has to fight off an army who come to kill her baby, because disaster follows Bella everywhere. Edward, in his turn, has to learn to trust her, even when her decision-making seems counter-intuitive to him. Time and time again he is struck by the staggering realisation that he is not always right. He has to learn to negotiate, to debate things, to change his mind. He has to grow up.
Did Meyer have to write her vampires this way? No, of course not. Is Edward challenged enough for crossing Bella's boundaries? Again, I'd say no. Do these negative elements cancel out the positive ones? I don't believe so.
Analysing problematic aspects in any type of media is valuable. I do it myself with every review I write. Books such as Laurell K. Hamilton's 'Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter' series and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness contain comparable characters – immensely powerful vampires each seeking to control his human love interest, including stalking, drugging and physically threatening her – and I've discussed elsewhere how uncomfortable those characters make me.
I feel differently about Twilight. In part that's because Bella is a slightly directionless teenager, not a grown woman with pre-existing plans for her life – becoming a vampire is a reasoned decision that she makes for herself, not something forced on her by Edward. Quite the opposite, actually. When she really cares about something, she does it regardless of what he thinks (i.e. reconnecting with the werewolves, keeping the baby, maintaining communication with her father even after her transformation). It's also important to me that he can't use at least one of his powers on her, and by the end of Breaking Dawn, he has no physical or supernatural advantage over her at all. By then an isolated, insecure girl has developed into a confident, capable woman with a husband who loves, admires and trusts her, and a network of good friends.
I get something very positive out of this story. I understand that not everyone will. Discussing different interpretations of a book is every reader's right.
But that's not what's happening with Twilight. An immensely popular series has been critically degraded to the point where the readers who love it are ridiculed by people who should know better and vastly insulting assumptions are made about them as a result.
The articles that kicked all this off were not, I am sure, intended to be a part of that. They are considered arguments from people who have actually read the books, an approach I appreciate and respect. What I feel both writers failed to do was take into account the fantastical elements of the story, and the ways in which that might affect resulting interactions. They are judging Edward as a human teenager, and he's not. That doesn't justify inappropriate behaviour, but it does go some way towards explaining it, and I think most readers instinctively recognise that, particularly pre-existing fans of speculative fiction.
I'm not saying the writer of either article is wrong, either. Everyone who reads a book will get something different out of it. I, for instance, am not a huge fan of William Shakespeare. I find it difficult to see past the misogyny and historical inaccuracies. Charles Dickens is a bit too flowery for my taste. That doesn't mean I can't see the immense skill that went into their work, or accept that other people love them in a way I do not.
But of course, they are men. They are classics. It's much easier to dismiss a woman, a modern writer yet to develop that patina of respectability that only time can provide; it's easy to belittle a fantasy series about a teenage girl in love. I imagine that a great many people will be outraged by my making the comparison at all. To which I want to say: no one is making you read what's popular now. No one is taking the classics away – in fact, the authors I refer to are very much respected by modern audiences, if the number of large-scale theatre productions and BBC dramas are anything to go by. But the story you need will not necessarily be the story someone else needs. And their need is every bit as important as yours. If you don't like the book, for pity's sake, just put it down.
For those who find Twilight genuinely troubling, it is your right to feel that way, and to talk about it. That's healthy. But don't run down other people for not seeing the same thing you did and feeling the same way. It's unkind and unhelpful. And it's my right to say so.


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Q: cannot open python script by double clicking i have searched on multiple forums and looks like others met similar issues but I haven't read a straightforward explanation yet. what I am trying to do is to simply open my python script by double clicking it. it used to work, but not anymore. my python scripts can still be opened via idle. and executable when it is opened and F5 pressed.

A: if on windows or linux, right click, open with ... select python executable, or Idle. whichever you want the default action to be.
then select the option to "always use this to open .py files"

A: If on a Mac, you can CTRL+Click the file, Get info > Open With and change it to Python Launcher. Click Change All. Double clicking should run the script.
Another way is to use pyinstaller which makes the script into an executable. It is pretty straightforward to use.

A: Change the "open with..." preference for the py files by shift + right click and choose open with from the menu. Make sure you tick the use always option

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Destroy All Humans Rumored To Make A Return At E3 2019
Yammarii Long May 25th, 2019 - 1:54 AM
With E3 just a couple weeks away, leaks and bits of information slipping through the cracks are at their highest level as companies get ready to reveal their big projects next month. One notable publisher THQ Nordic has already been teasing the return of two of their beloved franchise to the spotlight for this year's convention.
The company didn't outright reveal the name of these franchises, of course, but they did drop a couple of vague hints for fans to speculate with. But, a few fans have been putting together the publishers recent comments and an AMA that happened earlier this year on 8chan to try and find out. For the first title THQ claimed that it will be a "galactically beloved game/franchise." This left the door open to many possibilities, but back in February a Twitter user stated that an image was uploaded by user THQN_Reinhard during the AMA that revealed THQ Nordic's alleged lineup for E3 2019.
This leaked when they did there AMA. The two games are Destroy all Humans and Darksiders: Genesis. pic.twitter.com/hndKy3X9o2
— Afro Gear (@Afro_Gear) May 19, 2019
This post includes a Destroy All Humans title. The action adventure title places players as the role of an alien sent to Earth to collect DNA with an assortment of futuristic and outlandish weapons to terrorize humans and farm animals with. The franchise hasn't been seen since it's sequel in 2006, but it still has quite the following. Of course this should be taken with a grain of salt, but if this rumor does serve to be true it will be interesting to see if the title will be a sequel, a remake, or a whole new reboot of the franchise to give a new feel.
The other title on the listing which THQ hinted as a "new vision" of an existing franchise is Darksiders: Genesis. Whether this rumor is valid or not it's certain in the realm of possibilities and would gain a lot of attention if it comes to fruition. We only have a couple weeks to wait and see THQ's big reveal.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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A Social Media Week (ou SMW) é uma conferência mundial e plataforma de notícias com o intuito de compartilhar idéias, inovações ou promover discussões sobre como os impactos das mídias sociais e tecnologia nos negócios, sociedade e cultura ao redor do mundo. A conferência promove tais discussões através de palestras, debates, entrevistas, workshops e até mesmo demonstrações ou lançamentos de produtos. Uma de suas missões é ajudar pessoas, em projetos de inclusão social ou expansão da conectividade, e permitir que organizações que atuam na área de mídias sociais se conheçam, compartilhem conhecimento e experiência e colaborem entre si.

Missão

A missão da conferência pode ser resumida nos três principais objetivos definidos no Manifesto da conferência:

 Promover discussões e debates sobre os impactos e influência das mudanças na conectividade humana no contexto educacional, de entretenimento e de conteúdo diverso
 Ser uma plataforma para inovadores, palestrantes e pensadores líderes a apresentarem uma nova maneira desafiadora de fazer coisas na área de mídia social, relatando suas jornadas, compartilhando erros e acertos cometidos, divulgando suas experiências e opiniões sobre o tema
 Desempenhar um papel instrumental em encorajar a criação de originalidade, inspirando a audiência a ouvir ao mesmo tempo que desafiando-a a compartilhar idéias, sugestões ou melhoras, na análise de como indivíduos e comunidades se comportam, trabalham, e se adaptam a levar uma vida mais produtiva

Público

O evento possui conferências na Europa, Ásia, América do Norte, América do Sul, Oceania e África.

Conta com mais de 70.000 participantes a cada ano, 5.000 palestrantes e mais de 1 milhão de pessoas conectadas via redes sociais e dispositivos móveis. A audiência da conferência consiste sobretudo no seguinte grupo:

 Executivos nível C
 Executivos de marketing
 Empreendedores digitais
 Empreendedores de tecnologia e fundadores de empresas
 Executivos de publicação de mídia
 Blogueiros e jornalistas

As empresas de negócios que se apresentam na conferência variam de pequenos negócios de inovação iniciando a grandes empresas altamente reconhecidas.

Publicação
A conferência publica diversos tipos de materiais, entre eles:
 artigos de notícias
 lançamentos ou demonstrações de produtos
 pesquisa científica
 entrevistas
 opiniões de pensadores sobre temas de atualidade
As pesquisas científicas são originais ou feitas por uma entidade externa e são publicadas anualmente.

O evento possui algumas iniciativas de publicação como o BrainCandy, que consiste em uma série de vídeos de 60 segundos, mostrando funcionalidades pouco conhecidas, dicas de usos ou truques com ferramentas sociais que podem melhorar a experiência de vida dos usuários, permitindo uma maior produtividade de trabalho.

Empresas financiadoras e parceiros

Diversas empresas de grande porte financiam ou já financiaram, ou colaboraram como parceiro em algum evento da SMW. Entre elas, podem ser citadas:

 Facebook
 Fiat
 LinkedIn
 Microsoft
 Nokia
 PayPal
 Spotify
 Tagboard
 Vivo
 TIM
 Tumblr
 Yahoo
 Vevo
 Warner Music

Cidades do evento

O evento é exibido em diversas cidades do mundo inteiro. A exibição em cada localidade ocorre em uma data diferente do ano. Entre as principais cidades, que constantemente exibem conferências da SMW, podem ser citadas:

 Berlim (Alemanha)
 Hamburgo (Alemanha)
 São Paulo (Brasil)
 Santiago (Chile)
 Copenhague (Dinamarca)
 Barcelona (Espanha)
 Chicago (EUA)
 Los Angeles (EUA)
 Miami (EUA)
 Nova Iorque (EUA)
 Roterdã (Holanda)
 Bangalore (Índia)
 Jacarta (Indonésia)
 Mumbai (Índia)
 Milão (Itália)
 Roma (Itália)
 Cidade do México (México)
 Lagos (Nigéria)
 Londres (Reino Unido)

Temas

Alguns constantes temas de eventos da Social Media Week são:

Open & Connected

Este costuma ser o tema global da conferência. É relacionado ao impacto sócio-econômico e cultural de um mundo onde as pessoas e coisas estão cada vez mais conectadas.

O conceito de conectado referido consiste no conjunto de pessoas com acesso a computador e conectividade com Internet. Em 2015, existem mais de 3 bilhões de pessoas nessa classe e em torno de 2022, haverá mais de 6 bilhões. É esperado que essa classe inclua mais de 75 porcento da população global, e assim, o alcance desse grupo é maior e o poder de influência desse grupo sobre os diversos aspectos da sociedade é elevado. Algumas palestras  nesse tema focam em novas abordagens de maneira a aumentar a inclusão de pessoas nessa classe.

Outra linha de palestras da conferência nesse tema consiste em como o mundo otimizar a experiência de conectividade humana. Nesse contexto, existem diversas linhas que propões negócios ou modelos de negócio que visam a melhorar esse tipo de experiência. Também há linhas que demonstram como negócios podem ser otimizados a terem melhor desempenho através da melhor adequação ao mundo conectado por mídias sociais .

Social Data

Este tema consiste em basicamente extrapolação do conceito de "Big data" para a área de mídias sociais. O termo "Big data" se refere ao aumento excessivo da quantidade de informação armazenada e processada por aplicações, enquanto "Social Data" pode ser visto como uma espécie de humanização do conceito de dados e um tratamento dos mesmos como informações de aspecto social que podem ser manipuladas pelas aplicações. Nessa área, várias palestras propõem métodos de como tais dados podem ser utilizados para aprimorar negócios .

Reimagining Human Connectivity
É um tema mais relacionado à analise comportamental do ser humano, em aspectos de como o processo de interação é afetado pela conectividade e utilização de mídias sociais. As palestras e workshops geralmente geralmente consistem nas seguintes grandes linhas de pesquisa:
 estudo de maneiras inovadoras de aprimorar a experiência humana de conectividade, que geralmente envolve a utilização de abordagens novas de interação que trazem benefício aos participantes da mesma.
 análise de aspectos sociais e de interação em sociedades ou grupos sociais que possuem maneiras mais primitivas de conectividade.
 estudar formas de inclusão social de grupos sociais de baixa conectividade ou o processo de adaptação de tais indivíduos a ambientes de alta conectividade .

Crítica

A SMW tem recebido diversas críticas, na maioria bastante positivas, ao longo do tempo:

 Craig Hepburn, diretor global de mídias sociais da Nokia, considera a conferência não como apenas um evento, mas como um movimento inovativo que encoraja o compartilhamento das melhores práticas no contexto de exploração de mídias sociais.

 Patrick Starzan (vice-presidente de Marketing da Funny or Die) comenta que a Social Media Week é um fenômeno global que permite o compartilhamento de idéias, estratégias, histórias de sucesso e falha. Também elogia o fato de não ter sido apenas transmitindo informação a uma audiência, mas que pareceu mais como uma conversa com a comunidade ativa na área.

 Sree Sreenivasan, do site CNET, comenta que a conferência conta com diversos eventos em várias cidades, com alguns painéis sendo transmitidos simultaneamente, o que dificulta à audiência acompanhar tudo que acontece na mesma.
 Krystal D'Costa da revista Scientific American elogia o crescimento da conferência, que se tornou cada vez maior, em escala mundial, sem perder sua essência e identidade. Martin Bryant, do site de notícias de tecnologia The Next Web, também faz críticas positivas ao crescimento da conferência, mencionando seu trajetória desde a sua primeira e simples exibição em 2009 em Nova Iorque até a atual celebração internacional na área de mídias sociais, ressaltando ainda que a escala da conferência é no mínimo impressionante.
 Richard Morgan da revista Fortune faz críticas negativas sobre como as apresentações da Social Media Week em Nova Iorque são conduzidas.
 O site memeburn elogia à terceira edição da conferência em Lagos, ressaltando que a conferência não tem fronteiras (sua edição na Nigéria foi atendida por diversos participantes de outros países) e a relevância do conteúdo do mesmo, entretanto lamenta que o foco da mesma não seja na exibição de startups relacionadas a mídias sociais.

Eventos importantes

Na Social Media Week São Paulo 2013, com o tema "Open & Connected", houve o anúncio do lançamento do Spotify no Brasil .

Na Social Media Week 2014, de tema "Reimagining Human Connectivity", o documentário filme vencedor de prêmios, WEB, teve seu lançamento antecipado. O filme relata crônicas de crianças em vilarejos remotos nos Andes e Floresta Amazônica ganhando acesso a laptops e à Internet pela primeira vez.

Conferências
Eventos

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Mood: Nice days and premature shamrocks.
Soundtrack: 99% Invisible / Blues Traveler "Four"
I embarked on the rare Wednesday run today because the forecast calls for snow for the immediate future, and this morning was to be clear and beautiful, so I swapped my usual Thursday for a Friday. I was glad that I did so, as it was a great day to run. The roads had cleared quite a bit, so the slop I was running in on Tuesday morning was gone, and in it's place were fairly dry streets and a nice backdrop to get a few miles closer to my February goal. I have hit 100 miles or more for 13 straight months, and this is the first month in a long time that getting to that goal has been in question. Thanks to a short month of 28 days and many of these days being filled with more snow, I'm currently only at 96.6 miles for February. I feel confident that I'll get that final 3.4 miles in on Friday, as I plan on going even if I have to resort to running in the Southglenn parking garage to get those precious final few miles.
Today's run took me to many of the same places as yesterday's run, with only mild variances in the route. This was done intentionally, as I saw this snow monster celebrating St. Patricks Day in this same window yesterday, and immediately knew it'd need to make the blog sooner rather than later. I didn't get a good photo of it yesterday as there was a giant pickup truck blocking the way, and to get around it, I would have had to plod through a rather large pile of drifted snow in the yard. Thankfully today, the pickup was gone, and I had a straight shot of the monster. Interesting to perhaps only me, this monster is only three doors down from the recently featured house with a Lighthouse in it's front yard. It's a great stretch of weirdness in that area, I'm thankful for it.


text:
Q: AlertDialog singleChoiceItem NullPointerException Hi I am keep getting this exception. Below is my code. Please help me to solve this problem:
private void openDeleteCustomProfileDialog(String[] names) {

    AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(this);
    builder.setTitle(R.string.delete_profile_title);
    if (names.length > 0) {
    builder.setMessage(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile);
    builder.setCancelable(false);
    builder.setSingleChoiceItems(names, -1, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int which) {
            Toast.makeText(AudioFX.this, "which: " + which, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
        }
    });

    builder.setNegativeButton(R.string.cancel, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int which) {
            dialogInterface.dismiss();
        }
    });
    builder.setPositiveButton(R.string.delete, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int which) {
            dialogInterface.dismiss();
        }
    });
    } else {
        builder.setMessage(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile);
        builder.setNegativeButton(R.string.done, new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int i) {
                dialogInterface.dismiss();
            }
        });
   }

    builder.create().show();
}

Log:
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700): java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String java.lang.Object.toString()' on a null object reference
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.ArrayAdapter.createViewFromResource(ArrayAdapter.java:394)

01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.ArrayAdapter.getView(ArrayAdapter.java:362)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.AbsListView.obtainView(AbsListView.java:2467)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.ListView.measureHeightOfChildren(ListView.java:1286)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.ListView.onMeasure(ListView.java:1194)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.View.measure(View.java:17915)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:5698)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.FrameLayout.onMeasure(FrameLayout.java:465)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.View.measure(View.java:17915)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:5698)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.LinearLayout.measureChildBeforeLayout(LinearLayout.java:1692)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.LinearLayout.measureVertical(LinearLayout.java:760)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.LinearLayout.onMeasure(LinearLayout.java:629)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.View.measure(View.java:17915)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:5698)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.FrameLayout.onMeasure(FrameLayout.java:465)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.View.measure(View.java:17915)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:5698)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.FrameLayout.onMeasure(FrameLayout.java:465)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.View.measure(View.java:17915)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewGroup.measureChildWithMargins(ViewGroup.java:5698)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.widget.FrameLayout.onMeasure(FrameLayout.java:465)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.onMeasure(PhoneWindow.java:2728)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.View.measure(View.java:17915)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewRootImpl.performMeasure(ViewRootImpl.java:2421)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewRootImpl.measureHierarchy(ViewRootImpl.java:1391)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewRootImpl.performTraversals(ViewRootImpl.java:1647)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewRootImpl.doTraversal(ViewRootImpl.java:1301)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.ViewRootImpl$TraversalRunnable.run(ViewRootImpl.java:6676)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.Choreographer$CallbackRecord.run(Choreographer.java:800)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.Choreographer.doCallbacks(Choreographer.java:603)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.Choreographer.doFrame(Choreographer.java:572)

01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.view.Choreographer$FrameDisplayEventReceiver.run(Choreographer.java:786)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:815)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:104)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:194)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5616)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:372)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:959)
01-07 04:40:06.619: E/AndroidRuntime(2700):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:754)

A: Change below lines:
From:
builder.setTitle(R.string.delete_profile_title);
builder.setMessage(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile);

To:
builder.setTitle(getResources().getString(R.string.delete_profile_title));
builder.setMessage(getResources().getString(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile));

Edit 1:
Make sure that you are not having any null String[] names.
Hope this will help you.

A: use
builder.setTitle(YOUR_CONTEXT.getString(R.string.delete_profile_title));
builder.setMessage(YOUR_CONTEXT.getString(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile));

A: Change This:
You are trying to set title and message without getting resource.
builder.setTitle(R.string.delete_profile_title);
builder.setMessage(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile);

TO
Use getString over getResourse in particular context.
builder.setTitle(context.getResources().getString(R.string.delete_profile_title));
builder.setMessage(context.getResources().getString(R.string.delete_no_custom_profile));

Do this in setNegativeButton, setPositiveButton and setMessage for AlertDialog too.


text:
APPEARS IN Competitive Shooting Events
Tips to succeed from NRA World Shooting Championship veterans
by Jason J. Brown - Wednesday, September 14, 2016
The 2016 NRA World Shooting Championship presented by Kimber and Nightforce starts tomorrow, when competitive shooters from across the nation and around the world will descend on West Virginia's Peacemaker National Training Center to vie for the title of World Shooting Champion.
The competition's 12 stages unite a wide array of shooting disciplines, from pistol to shotgun, ARs to rimfire, and even cowboy action shooting. Stepping up to take on some of the world's best requires training, determination, and skill, although scoring some pointers from WSC veterans might be the extra edge competitors need to dethrone Bruce Piatt this year.
Let's hear from some WSC alumni:
Bruce Piatt
Reigning NRA World Shooting Champion
"The format at the NRA World Shooting Championship is unique in the aspect that you don't know what you have to shoot until you show up, so training for the event is a little difficult. My advice is to pack some good eye and ear protection, bring an open mind, be prepared to listen to the stage descriptions, figure out the best way you can take the guns they provide, and post the best score you can. When the match supplies all the guns and ammo, all you have to do is deal with "the performance." This is the most level playing field in the shooting sports that anyone from around the world can come and play."
Dianna Muller
Reigning NRA World Shooting Championship High Overall Lady
"The NRA World Shooting Championship match is such a different breed -- it's really a difficult match for which to "prepare!" Over the past two years, I've learned to relax. I focus on relaxing in my own sport, because when you focus on the expectations over the procedure, it usually never works out in the shooter's favor. The same goes for this match. You are tackling disciplines outside your expertise and using guns you aren't familiar with, and that can really rattle your nerves if you don't prepare for that mental challenge. But you can use this match design to your advantage. Remove all expectations, because, who is great at ALL the disciplines (besides Jerry Miculek)?! Give yourself some room to be "not so great," focus on the fundamentals and try to enjoy the match. It is kind of liberating throwing everything to the wind and seeing how you stack up against all kinds of shooters! Coming from such a gear intensive sport as 3-Gun, I really enjoy walking up to 12 different stages and shooting guns and ammo that are provided. Although there may be issues with that format, it's a great way to level the playing field, get down to brass tacks and see who is the most well rounded world champion shooter!"
Gabby Franco
Olympic shooter/Firearms instructor/NRA News Commentator
"I would tell someone who is going to shoot this match for the first time to watch videos about possible shooting disciplines so they know what they can expect. In my case, I am not a shotgun shooter, so I hired someone to teach me how to shoot sporting clays, trap and skeet. I didn't become an expert, but I was able to shoot the "shotgun only" with more confidence because I knew what I had to do. To my surprise, I did better than most people in those stages! Another thing I would say is DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED your abilities. Shooters will be using different firearms, and even though they have the capability to shoot great, these guns are not set up for each shooter. In my case many guns were larger for me, but all I did was deal with the challenge instead of complaining about the difficulties.
Luigi Borrillo, MD
Ophthalmologist and competitive shooter
"The most helpful preparation that can be made for amateurs entering the World Shooting Championship is mindset. Knowing that one will face unknown conditions and make do with the available instruments in competition, being open to failure and still persevering through the next event. It helps to have a well-rounded shooting sports background (which I lack), but what really helps is bumping into kind-hearted folks and fellow competitors. I love the venue, and love seeing fellow Americans."
More important than any trade secrets, pro tips or advice from past experiences is for all participants to be safe and have a great time! The NRA World Shooting Championship is more than a collection of the best shooters in the world -- it's a gathering of men and women who genuinely love the shooting sports and cherish the Constitutional freedoms that allow everyone to train for and join in the competition. Bring your A-game and your passion for shooting, and we'll see you in West Virginia!
NRA World Shooting Championship training shooting tips competitive shooting
The Return of the NRA Merchandise Preview Meeting
The Friends of NRA 2023 Standard Package Highlights
The 2023 Great American Outdoor Show
Keeping the Shooting Sports Traditions Alive


Sam Gentry and Matt Howard took the U15 boys race by the scruff of the neck and ran away from the field with Sam taking the tape in his now customary sprint finish. The one two gave them each a county gold medal – Avon for Sam and Somerset for Matt. Jack Wilkinson also had a cracking run with a fine 4th place and with it an Avon silver medal.
In a very strong field of 37 runners Kes Pitchers 21st, Jacob Faulkner 23rd and Will Cheek in 24th place were separated by just 11 seconds to complete their teams score.
Bottom age group Ruth Day continues to improve with every race and her 10th place finish in the U15 girl's race was just 6 seconds off a county medal.
Keira Devereux had another strong run in the U11 race and her 4th place finish was enough to secure an Avon silver medal whilst Poppy Adams continues to improve and will be pleased with her 13th place. In the boys race Herbie Cooksley in only his 2nd race secured a Somerset bronze medal with his 13th place finish, whilst Elliot Jeston finished just behind Herbie in 17th place.
Alice Bridger-Morales had a fine run to finish 4th in a very strong field of U13 girls and took the Avon bronze medal. Ruby Owen and Connie Ballentine battled hard for their respective 17th and 21st respectively whilst both were suffering the effects of heavy colds.
Louie Brunsdon and Guy Owen were both bottom age athletes in the U13 boys race and they worked well together to 27th and 28th in a field of 46, whilst Ben Hartigan in his first ever race should feel very pleased with his run in finishing 31st.
U20 David Warnes looks to be nearing his best again with a fine run to 3rd place overall in a very strong combined U17/U20 race, which was also good enough to give him the Avon county gold medal. Ultra-competitive U17 Callum Smith was a little disappointed with his run whilst not feeling 100% and his finish of 17th from a field of 28th was a below where he would normally have expected.
U20 Ellie Wallace looked a class apart in the combined U17/20 women's race. She led the field from the off as she stormed to victory and Avon gold, with Alys Withers taking silver in 15th place overall. Alice Davies took Somerset gold in the U17 category with her 4th place overall followed by Olivia Burton in 7th and an Avon silver.
Jo Gallagher had another fine run to finish 8th place in a strong field of just 31 senior ladies, whilst Josh Davis led the senior mens race at one stage only to be undone in the final 1k, but his superb 3rd place finish from a field of 85 secured the Avon silver medal.
James Rodgers ran another high profile 10k at Telford on Sunday where he finished just 3 seconds off his PB in a time of 31.19. With training going well his coach Steve Hollier said he is confident that James can breach the elusive 31minute barrier in the new-year.


text:
Bachelor of Science (Psychology) (Honours)
A single one year undergraduate degree offered by the ANU College of Health and Medicine
BSCPSYC
Which applies to me?
Adjustment factors availability
Academic plan HSPSY
CRICOS code 047429E
Elective Study
The Bachelor of Science (Psychology) (Honours) requires the completion of 48 units, which must consist of:
48 units from completion of the Psychology Honours specialisation
Once you have met the program requirements of your degree, you may have enough electives to complete an additional elective major, minor or specialisation.
An AQF Level 7 Bachelor of Science (Psychology) Degree, or equivalent, completed within the last two years:
with a weighted average mark equivalent to an ANU 70 per cent calculated from the 36 units (i.e. 0.75 EFTSL) of courses in the discipline cognate to the honours specialisation, excluding 1000-level courses (i.e. introductory undergraduate courses), with the highest marks.
With a weighted average mark equivalent to ANU 60% for all 1000, 2000 and 3000-level APAC accredited psychology courses
And the satisfaction of any admission requirements described in the relevant honours specialisation
Students undertake honours in the same named Bachelor degree as their pass degree, except where that degree is not available (such as when transferring from another institution) or doing so conflicts with the content of the honours study.
The National Register of higher education providers is an authoritative source of information that will help you confirm your institution of choice is registered to deliver higher education in Australia.
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) website is HERE. Based on surveys done by thousands of students across Australia you can find out about universities that interest you, doing side-by-side comparisons.
Adjustment Factors do not apply to 1 year honours programs. They do not apply to this program.
Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
The Bachelor of Science (Psychology) (Honours) degree exemplifies a commitment to research-led education. Honours builds on the Bachelor of Science (Psychology) which will expose you to a wide range of psychological sciences, covering topics as varied as how groups interact, vision and how it can be tricked to see what is not really there, how the brain develops as a baby and how it will change again as you get older, how impulses are carried from brain to muscle, and how things go wrong in abnormal psychology. Honours allows the exploration of research possibilities in this field, it gives you preparation for professional life or a higher degree by research through the development of an advanced knowledge of the research principles and methods and theoretical concepts of your discipline, and through the design and implementation of a research project, that develops new understandings or provides solutions to complex problems. Honours Specialisations are available that mirror the teaching and research strengths at the ANU in science, medicine and health.
Plan and engage in an independent and sustained critical investigation of a chosen research topic to generate new knowledge.
Systematically evaluate relevant theory and concepts, relate these to appropriate methodologies and evidence and draw appropriate conclusions.
Analyse and interpret original research data with statistical or other evaluative processes where appropriate.
Demonstrate sufficient mastery to understand and apply relevant experimental techniques and methods to collect original research data
Communicate and justify complex concepts and results clearly and effectively to a variety of audiences.
For more information on Honours year in Science, please visit:
http://science.anu.edu.au/study/bachelor-degrees/honours-year
For more information on how to apply for Honours in Science include deadlines, please visit:
http://science.anu.edu.au/study/how-apply/honours-year-application


text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context"
	xmlns:hadoop="http://www.springframework.org/schema/hadoop"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
		http://www.springframework.org/schema/hadoop http://www.springframework.org/schema/hadoop/spring-hadoop.xsd
		http://www.springframework.org/schema/context http://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context-4.1.xsd">
	<context:annotation-config />
	<context:component-scan base-package="com.casicloud.aop.kafka" />
	<hadoop:configuration id="hadoopConfiguration" resources="classpath:core-site.xml,hdfs-site.xml"/>
	<hadoop:file-system id="hadoopFS"  configuration-ref="hadoopConfiguration"/>
</beans>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How do I connect to an RD farm using the farm name? New to RD... I'd think this a very obvious question but my web searches come up dry...
I've got two Server 2012 servers, call them ALPHA and BETA.  ALPHA is an RD Gateway, RD Connection Broker, and RD Session Host.  (I imagine this system doubling as a session host could be trouble under heavy load, but this is only a trial.)  BETA is simply an RD Session Host.
I've got ALPHA and BETA in a collection, we'll call "My Collection".
If I set my RD client to use the gateway, and then enter "ALPHA.domain.com" where it says "Computer:" on the connection dialog, I invariably get a session on ALPHA.
If I enter "BETA.domain.com", one of two things happen.  Either I get a session on BETA, or I get an error saying:

Remote Desktop Connection cannot connect to the remote computer.
The remote computer BETA.domain.com that you are trying to connect to is redirecting you to another remote computer named ALPHA.domain.com.  Remote Desktop Connection cannot verify that the computers belong to the same RD Session Host server farm.  You must use the farm name, not the computer name, when you connect to an RD Session Host server farm.
If you are using an RDP Connection provided to you by your administrator, contact your administrator for assistance.
If you want to connect to a specific farm member to administer it, type "mstsc.exe /admin" at a command prompt.

This message suggests I use the "farm name", but if I try entering "My Collection" as the computer name, it firstly truncates this to "My", and then basically tells me there's no such computer.  There wouldn't be one called "My Collection", either.
(Of course, the Help button is no help.)
Questions:

*

*What am I supposed to do on the client in order to connect to whichever of the two hosts is least busy?

*Should the redirect mentioned in the error message have worked, and if so, what things should I look at to explain why it didn't?
Thank you for any insight!

A: Kevin, to answer one point you wrote:
"I imagine this system doubling as a session host could be trouble under heavy load, but this is only a trial."
Not at all, the broker service is a very lean service which all it does is poll the various  servers in the farm and maintain who is logged on where in a small database and tell where to go.
There are a few steps in setting up RD Session Farms.
This is the best starting point:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753891.aspx
But in essence:
1) Create a round robin dns entry with the farm name which has the IP of all your session host servers.
2) On the broker, add all session host (alpha + beta in your case) to the group Remote Desktop Server (may be slightly different name, I don't have it in front of me).
3) Setup the Remote desktop service telling it that it is part of a farm.
4) Enable the policy of "one session per user" - otherwise you may have a situation where a user has a session on each server.
Then with all that, on the client you just go to the farm name (since it's in DNS).
Your client will be directed to one of the entry in the round robin dns. They will get a logon prompt. The server they got will then check with the broker to see whether they should let the user on or redirect him to a different server and proceed.
If you are using pre-win7 clients, then they will get a repeated login screen if they get redirected. A bit annoying my users are saying! But on win7+ clients then it does not do that.


Fatboy is losing traction with his weight and fortitude. I started this site on Posterous as self-accountability and then moved it to here using what I do every day for my business for global accountability and to better the CF community with my experiences and to connect with others. Today it's time to cash in on accountability because Fatboy is losing traction and in need of community support.
I just don't feel like going through all of the effort of making a huge omelet every morning just for myself and eating it by myself for the 200th time. It's getting old. FAST! I've got work to do and hate starting each morning with yet another time-consuming chore done alone. I'm maintaining the weight I had after my cold (124lbs) but not gaining any of it back with my current appetite and eating.
It's not a bad weight, but it's not what I was nor where the doctors want me at. Our budget is stretched to the max with co-pays and pre-deductible medical expenses for the next month or so, so no matter how much I'd love to, going to the nearby pizza place for an 8″ personal pizza and drink for $7 every day to make up for a lost breakfast isn't an option for a while. I know a certain Californian will suggest McGriddles, but that comes to an issue of time and money, as the nearest McDonald's is with the flow of rush hour traffic and would end up being at least a 30-minute round trip.
I've made do for a few days by drinking my breakfast with extra Boosts, but that's a more expensive option than eating my breakfast. The only thing that I can think of at the moment is to buy a few packs of bacon and pre-cook them in the oven when Beautiful doesn't have to smell them and put them in the fridge to reheat with some sunny side up eggs that don't take the extra time that an omelet does. I know for sure that it has to be protein-based because I crash seriously hard from a carb breakfast.
It sure does take a lot of work to pack for a plane trip vs. a road trip. We had to check the regulations because they seem to change every 3-6 months as we get more and more removed from 9/11, yet constantly reminded with scares and dry runs that keep getting more regulations in place.
I got a letter from my CF doctor stating that I have cystic fibrosis and will be traveling with [several medications including these listed, but not limited to] and invited them to contact him directly if they have any concerns about what I'm traveling with. That brought a certain special peace of mind, considering that we have over $30,000 worth of medicine and equipment. Each dose of some of my meds is over $30 and my Vest was over $11,000. They will not be leaving our possession, that's for sure.
I've been blogging a long time – since 2005, actually. Not as long as some, but longer than most. It's been a passion of mine for quite a while, even consuming a tad bit too much of my time when I was supposed to be doing other things during the day (including countless hours on Darren Rowse's ProBlogger.net), but that has given me lots of practice and tips. I've taken it to the next level in the last 18 months and left my day job and run my own LLC consulting, building, designing, and modifying peoples' personal and business sites to run on the blogging platform this site is built on: WordPress. I love what I do now so much, I often don't realize that I'm working because it's so darn fun to blog, design, and improve peoples' situations.
Today, I'll share some of them with you so you can either start your blog or improve it from where it is today… for FREE! Some of the tips involve some minimal costs, but not everything on this list needs to be taken to the letter to be successful. YOU make it successful, while your tools are just there to make it easier.
Even if you're penning your blog anonymously, you absolutely must be authentic. Whether you're an impartial camera equipment editor or a health blogger, the audience must be able to connect with you or they will not stay. You will see a bunch of one-time visits accounting of one page view, and they're gone. You just weren't interesting.
I really had no idea before then, and even if I did, I honestly don't know what I would have been allowed to do about it.
For those without CF, all I can say is that the pressure is almost unimaginable, second only to a complete intestinal blockage. The increased pressure is a direct result of poor absorption of the food we eat. I am doubtful that the teachers would have been allowed to have me wandering off down the hall to the bathroom every time my pressure meter started to rise because that would be a special privilege and I would have missed countless hours of classroom instruction had I done that.


At the start of 2014, many people in journalism circles were calling 2014 the year of adaptive journalism. Unfortunately, we haven't come far enough in adaptive journalism for this year to be named the year of adaptive journalism (yet), but one thing is certain. Adaptive journalism should be a priority for news organizations as well as Authoritative Content publishers.
Adaptive Journalism is simply a shift in thinking and strategy. It's a platform-first strategy that understands consumers are viewing more content using mobile devices and dual devices than are using desktop computers alone or printed newspapers and magazines.
Adaptive journalism also prioritizes users.Rather than simply pushing stories out through distribution channels, adaptive journalism matches the storytelling experience with the device and the user. It allows for greater creativity but also requires flexibility, speed, and a willingness to change.
Adaptive journalism is hyper-personalized for the user. A story delivered on a mobile device will be cross-pollinated with other content that is personalized to meet the user's preferences, interests, location, and more.
When publishers learn how to effectively marry user data with stories and experiences, they'll be capable of adaptive journalism. Until then, they'll continue chasing the right mix but won't achieve the maximum results. Publishers and news organizations who figure out the perfect recipe will reap the rewards. What's most surprising is how many major media and brand publishers aren't pursuing adaptive journalism strategies yet.
What do you think about the adaptive journalism shift? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.