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Widow of tram crash victim receives 'substantial' compensation from Transport for London but says 'it doesn't bring closure for me'
'It doesn't bring closure for me as we still have the inquests into the deaths and a court case to go through. This is just the first hurdle'
Olivia Tobin
The widow of one of the seven tram crash victims has been paid "substantial" compensation from Transport for London (TfL) but says she is no closer to closure following the tragic crash.
Marilyn Logan lost her 52-year-old husband Philip in last November's crash when a tram derailed at Sandilands Junction.
According to the 64-year-old's solicitor, compensation has now been paid to her, 18 months on from the crash.
Mrs Logan, of Headley Drive, in New Addington , said: "I may now have a damages settlement for losing my wonderful husband, but it doesn't bring closure for me as we still have the inquests into the deaths and a court case to go through. This is just the first hurdle for me."
She added: "I am still very bitter towards Transport for London (TfL), just for the way they've reacted to things, or not reacted. I have never had a personal letter from them, and when I went to a TfL meeting with a reporter from my local paper [The Advertiser] they didn't even acknowledge me in the room."
Philip and Marilyn Logan on their wedding day
This is how TfL is planning to improve tram services to Elmers End
The Avertiserpreviously reported that Mrs Logan was told the support money she was receiving from TfL would have to come out of her future settlement.
TfL has admitted civil liability for the crash, which killed seven people and injured dozens more, and had been paying interim payments to help support Mrs Logan prior to receiving her final settlement, as her husband Philip was the breadwinner for the family.
Mr Logan, a bricklayer who had been on his regular journey to work, was killed instantly after being thrown from the carriage. He died as a result of severe head and chest injuries.
The compensation settlement was agreed by TfL after Mrs Logan was represented by personal injury specialists Hudgell Solicitors.
CRDC20161214A Marilyn Logan is the wife of tram crash victim Philip Logan. Portrait of Marilyn at home in New Addington. PLEASE CREDIT Photo by David Cook 079 7675 3255
Mrs Logan said counselling paid for by TfL following her husband's death had helped her come to terms with her loss, but says she knows she still faces difficulties.
She said: "The counselling did help as I wasn't in a good way, and I was burying everything. The counsellor taught me how not to bury it, and how to deal with the grief,"
Croydon tram crash report
Driver may have 'micro-slept'
Type of glass 'led to fatalities'
Near-miss 'not investigated'
Recommendations in full
"The settlement doesn't end it for any of us though. It doesn't bring closure yet, as we still have the inquests and a court case to go through. This is just the first hurdle for me and it has all left me angry and bitter."
Matthew Tuff, a senior solicitor at Hudgell Solicitors, said: "We are pleased that we were able to secure a substantial damages settlement as Mr Logan was still a relatively young man with a long working life ahead of him.
Marilyn Logan and her family laying flowers at the memorial on November 9, 2017 - one year on since the tragic Croydon tram crash (Image: Grant Melton)
"He supported a wife and step-children, had grandchildren and great-grandchildren who loved him and relied on him, and he was very much involved in their lives.
Croydon tram stop plagued by series of robberies
"His death was obviously very traumatic for the whole extended family, and the way in which Mrs Logan had her husband's death confirmed was unforgiveable.
"Of course, financial settlements can never come close to making up for the sadness and grief that a family goes through in situations like this, and as Mrs Logan has said, there is still a long way to go before they have full closure. We hope this settlement does help them though as a family."
Gareth Powell, TfL's Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: "We feel for everyone affected by the terrible tragedy at Sandilands. We will do whatever it takes to provide the help people need and urge anyone needing support to get in touch with us straight away.
"There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our passengers and staff and we have taken decisive action to learn from what happened. A number of new safety measures have been implemented to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again and, alongside tram operators across the country, we are implementing the recommendations from the rail investigator to further improve safety."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Is Opera truly free and activity not tracked?
Is the latest version really free? It says 'free to download' but so do thousands of shareware programs.
Is it really private or does this new chrome engine mean we're tracked, harvested for so-called anonymous data?
I'm still using 12.16. Will there be any real advantage if I download the latest as a separate install to try?
Any real advantage in 64-bit over 32?
It all boils down to your trust into Opera - if you trust that they follow their policy, then your data is not shared. If you don't trust them - well, you can't trust your ISP (or your router) either.
64bit Opera (on Windows) is first dev version only and probably no one can comment on its advantages over 32bit yet. Due to the process model of Chrome/Opera engine (each tab is separate process) 32 bit is not very limiting.
Okay, thanks for replies. I'll give it a try.


Dr. Amin Jaffer will speak about western luxury goods made for Indian princes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The talk explores the superb and extraordinary commissions made for maharajas by western luxury houses Cartier, Chaumet and Boucheron. Jaffer contextualizes this appetite for luxury goods within the broader historical context of shifting taste and power between India and the West.
Dr. Amin Jaffer is International Director of Asian Art at Christie's and specialises in Indian art in the age of European influence. For thirteen years a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jaffer authored Furniture from British India and Ceylon (V&A, 2001), Luxury Goods from India (V&A, 2002) and Made for Maharajas: a design diary of Princely India (2006). Jaffer was co-curator of the V&A's blockbuster 2004 exhibition Encounters: the meeting of Asia and Europe, 1500-1800, which explored the artistic and cultural encounter between Europe and Asia following the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama in 1498. He lectures frequently in Europe, America and India and contributes regularly to journals and major newspapers.
Amin Jaffer speaks about western luxury goods made for Indian princes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


There was one mill levy request at the Nov. 18 Senior Citizens of Marion County Board of Directors meeting in Peabody. Judy Mellott of Peabody Senior Center asked for assistance with the center's property insurance of $2,400. The board voted to give $1,200 to the Peabody Center.
Nominating bylaws committee chairman Shirley Bowers informed the board that Jerry Kline was willing to serve a second term with two different boards. He was approved.
Shawn Sullivan, Kansas Department of Aging Secretary said the department is working on a Kansas Nursing Home ranking website and a website directory for aging disabled individuals to look for services.
Robert Carlton, Central Home Care Administrator, reported that Kansas Medicaid is going to be privatized and there will be six contractors in Kansas to manage the cases of individuals on Medicaid.


The weather the Front Range has been experiencing is classic Indian Summer - warm sunny days with dry and fast conditions. But we can always artificially make a 'cross and that's what our friends at Interlocken did by allowing the industrial park's sprinklers t remain on all night and create a swamp of epic proportions for us.
The day began with a bang with my son Seamus (above) telling me he 'felt it' in the car on the way over. I'm like..."Feel what Seamus?" and he responds: "I feel like I'm going to win." Well then, OK boy. And he proceeded to pin it from the start had a blast 2 wheel drifting in the mud. His first taste of victory.
I'd pace with teammates (Brian and Wisner above) but each lap felt horrible. Completely over the limit and began to make mistakes. My mind wasn't focused on anything going forward and staying smooth. It was not even thinking about training! It quite honestly was feeling the pain.
The back section of the course features a good ol fashioned tractor pull (below). Standard fair in cross (especially in Belgium) and yet I felt like I'd sink each time around. Not being able to keep tempo and where I'd get caught/dispatched each time. Here teammate Matt, Scott Upton on the 1x1 and Gully and I traverse the field all trying to find the fastest line through.
I'd end up 20th. Obviously disappointed but less so with the placing and more with my inability to command myself to go deeper. In the closing lap I'd also started to think about Sunday (probably a mistake) but was starting to boil up some anger to try and use to summon fast legs.
Sunday. I woke up and had this feeling like Seamus. I'm going to win today. I literally felt this and didn't care who showed up. I was going to throw everything at them. I was at peace with everything and literally, and atypically, decided to go for a ride in the AM. I cruised over to 'The World's Crappiest Park' (Elks) with its cotton woods blowing up bright yellow to drift through the corners and feel the bike a bit before my race later in the AM. I was just riding, happy and still had that warm feeling that it was going to be OK to completely hurt myself to go after my best possible self.
From the gun, Robson and I blasted off the line to the front with the peloton in tow. We'd get into the chicanes and immediately distance ourselves. What's amazing is that Ward (7 back here) would salmon his way thrugh that group by lap 2 to bridge to us and start to work.
By lap 2, Robson, Ward and I are a trio pushing hard and distancing ourselves. Robson turning to me saying, 'This is a good one Keller! Stay in!" Baker yelling at me "YEAH KELLER!!"It was rad to just be carving with friends just the same way we'd be flowing through singletrack together in Ned.
Each lap I'd push hard, not yielding. I could finally command myself to do what I know I could do which is not concede and just trust myself and my bike driving. Behind me it was a rotating affair of some of the hard men in full chase. Frank Overton, Chad Totaro, Jonny Coln, Brian Hludzinski and finally Jon Tarkington all changing turns to try and reel us back. it felt good to just be strategic...to watch them, guage my effort, then look forward and push to catch Ward.
By the closing lap, Robson had 15sec on Ward and I and Ward was just too far to reel back in. Way too smooth and I did not want to take any risks on the last lap and preserve what I thought was a fantastic race.
Meanwhile in junior land! Seamus was on to another banner day in the AM. Well off the front in his little race. So much so that the officials didn't realize he was racing and they sent him on a long course while diverting the chasing pack of kids on a much shorter course! The poor kid was DNF'd and just didn't understand and was so upset. Aiden took an amazing 4th both days in the 10-12 chasing his incredible teammates who inspire him greatly. The older kids on the team do that and I love seeing him look up to other kids the way he and Seamus do. The boys are having an incredible season learning so much about themselves.
On to the big Boulder Cup weekend. The Colorado Cross Classic (Boulder Reservoir) on Saturday and Boulder Cup (Valmont Bike Park) Sunday. Oh, and this just showed up last night. HUP!!


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Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978) is a Swedish and American actress. In the early 2000s, she had several small television and film parts in both Canadian and American productions, including The Utopian Society (2003) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). Following a supporting role on the HBO mockumentary sitcom The Comeback (2005), she gained her first co-starring roles in the romantic comedy films The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and 27 Dresses (2008). She had an uncredited role in the science fiction film, The Invasion (2007). She played the female lead in Watchmen (2009) as Silk Spectre II, a role for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2009, Åkerman had supporting and starring roles in the romantic comedies The Proposal and Couples Retreat. From 2010 to 2016, she starred on the Adult Swim comedy series Childrens Hospital. In 2012, she co-starred in the comedy Wanderlust and the musical film Rock of Ages. She had her first lead television role with the short-lived ABC comedy series Trophy Wife (2013–2014). She later co-starred in the film I'll See You in My Dreams (2015) and the action film Rampage (2018). Since 2016, Åkerman has had a main role on the Showtime drama series Billions as Lara Axelrod.

Apart from acting and modelling, Åkerman had a brief music career as the lead vocalist for alternative rock band The Petalstones in the early 2000s, but eventually left to focus on her acting career. She has been married twice, first from 2007 to 2014 to Petalstones drummer Roberto Zincone, with whom she has a son, and, since 2018, to English actor Jack Donnelly.

Early life
Åkerman was born in Stockholm on 12 May 1978, the daughter of aerobics teacher and part-time model Pia (née Sundström) and insurance broker Magnus Åkerman. When she was two years old, the family moved to Canada after her father was offered a job there. Four years later her parents divorced and her father moved back to Sweden. She was raised as a Buddhist. After her mother remarried, they moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Her mother divorced again in Åkerman's teenage years. Åkerman attended many different schools, including Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. She visited her father in Falsterbo during school breaks and talked to him regularly over the phone. She cites her parents as "supportive, positive influences" in her life.

Åkerman's mother introduced her to modelling while she was still in primary school. At age 16, she was discovered by Ford Models in a shopping mall in St. Catharines. She was signed to the agency and later won a contract with skincare company Noxzema. She soon moved to Toronto while attending North Toronto Collegiate Institute and later Dante Alighieri Academy. At the age of 18, inspired by the "helplessness" she sometimes felt during her childhood, she decided to become a child psychologist. She supported her education by modelling for television commercials and catalogue layouts. While studying for a year at York University in Toronto, she was simultaneously offered guest roles on television as a result of her exposure in commercials. She saw the acting roles as further opportunities to pay for her education but found herself enjoying acting, and later dropped out of school to become an actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 2001 to pursue her acting career full-time.

Career

Early roles (1997–2008)
Åkerman made her acting debut on the Canadian science fiction series Earth: Final Conflict in 1997 in a smaller role as a robot. She originally landed a role on an MTV pilot with Rachel McAdams but the project was never picked up by the network. In 2000 she guest starred on Relic Hunter and had a smaller role in the American film The Skulls. The following year she made appearances on the series Doc, Twice in a Lifetime and Witchblade. In 2001 she moved to Los Angeles, California, in hopes of pursuing a broader acting career. At first, she worked as a waitress and stayed at a friend's house. In 2002 she received a role in the film The Utopian Society. The film was edited by Francesco Sondelli, guitarist for alternative rock band Ozono. Sondelli asked Åkerman to help the band with song lyrics and later asked her to sing. Åkerman subsequently became the band's singer, and they changed their name to The Petalstones. The band's debut album Stung was released in August 2005, but Åkerman eventually left to focus on her acting career. She described her singing as "sort of a self-made, self-taught, if-you-can't-hit-the-note-scream-it kind of thing".

In 2004 she got a small role in the film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, but considered moving back to Canada as most of her auditions failed. She was then cast in a supporting role as Juna on the HBO television series The Comeback, with Lisa Kudrow in the main role. Kudrow played a former sitcom star who tried to restart her career. Åkerman's appearance on the show garnered media attention and resulted in her being offered more roles. A year later, she guest starred on an episode of Love Monkey and two episodes of Entourage. Before the Entourage episodes aired, she landed a role in the 2007 comedy film The Brothers Solomon. The film was a box office bomb and received largely critical reviews.

Åkerman signed up for a role opposite Ben Stiller in the comedy film The Heartbreak Kid, directed by the Farrelly Brothers, in 2006. She played Lila, the newly wedded wife of Stiller's character. The film follows the couple's honeymoon in Mexico, where Stiller's character falls in love with another woman and realizes that the marriage was a mistake. A remake of the 1972 film of the same title, it was released in October 2007 to generally poor reviews, as critics deemed it "neither as daring nor as funny" as the directors' earlier films. Åkerman's performance garnered more positive reviews; Desson Thomson of The Washington Post called her a "fabulous comic partner" to Stiller, while Roger Moore of Times Herald-Record asserted that she had outperformed him. The film grossed US$14 million in its opening weekend in the United States, and went on to gross US$127 million globally.

In 2007, Åkerman joined the cast of 27 Dresses, a romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher with Katherine Heigl in the lead role. The film follows Heigl's character Jane, who has always been the bridesmaid and dreams of her own wedding. Åkerman played Jane's sister Tess. The film was shot during the summer of 2007, and was released in January 2008 to weak critical reception as it was considered "clichéd and mostly forgettable". The film was more successful commercially, with a gross of US$160 million. Åkerman played the title role in Bye Bye Sally, a short film directed by Paul Leyden and based on Lisa Mannetti's short story Everybody Wins. The film premiered at the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival.

Breakthrough with Watchmen (2009–2011)

In 2009, Åkerman starred as Silk Spectre II in the superhero film Watchmen, an adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel of the same name. Directed by Zack Snyder, the feature film is set in an alternate reality in 1985 where a group of retired vigilantes investigate an apparent conspiracy against them. Snyder favoured Åkerman over other more well-known actresses as he felt that they could not play such a serious part. Åkerman rehearsed with "months of hardcore training" and went on a very strict diet. She wore a brunette wig, high heels and an uncomfortable latex costume, which provided little protection when performing stunts, and she often bruised herself during filming. Åkerman stated that her character carries the emotion of the film as she is the only woman among several men. Premiering in February 2009, the film received generally favourable reviews, and was a commercial success, grossing US$185 million worldwide. Although Åkerman was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film, critics were generally negative towards her acting. She also received nominations for a Teen Choice Award and two Scream Awards.

Åkerman appeared in the 2009 romantic comedy film The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in the lead roles. Åkerman played a supporting role as Gertrude, the ex-girlfriend of Reynolds' character. Although the film received mixed reviews, it went on to gross US$317 million worldwide. Also in 2009, Åkerman starred in the comedy film Couples Retreat, opposite Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. The film follows four couples as they travel to a tropical island resort for couples therapy. Åkerman played Ronnie, the wife of Vaughn's character. She enjoyed playing a mother for the first time and tried to make her character as truthful as possible. The film premiered in theatres in October 2009 and grossed US$34 million in its opening weekend in the United States, entering number one at the box office, and totalled US$171 million worldwide. Reception for the film was mainly negative, although Åkerman's performance was met with more positive reactions.

In 2010, Åkerman co-starred as Annie in the Josh Radnor-directed comedy-drama film Happy. Thank You. More. Please. As her character has alopecia, Åkerman shaved off her eyebrows and wore a bald cap to cover her hair. She was originally offered a different part, but felt that she wanted to play Annie as it was different from her previous roles. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010 and received an audience award for Favorite U.S. Drama. Reviews from critics were polarized, but Åkerman received praise. Later in 2010, she guest starred on the How I Met Your Mother episode "The Wedding Bride", and joined the cast of the Adult Swim comedy series Childrens Hospital. Playing the part of the promiscuous Dr. Valerie Flame, Åkerman joined during the series' second season along with Henry Winkler. The series was originally a web series and Åkerman accepted the role after viewing several webisodes. "It was totally up my alley, my kind of humor", she said of the series. The same year, she played a supporting role in the romantic comedy film The Romantics with Katie Holmes, Josh Duhamel and Anna Paquin. The film premiered in September 2010 on limited release to generally negative reviews.

In 2010, she starred in Sebastian Gutierrez's comedy film Elektra Luxx opposite Carla Gugino and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film is a sequel to 2009's Women in Trouble. Åkerman played Trixie, an awkward drug store clerk who falls for Gordon-Levitt's character, who in turn is obsessed with Gugino's character, a retired porn star. Åkerman was offered the role during a screening of Women in Trouble. The film premiered in March 2011 on limited release and received generally unfavourable reviews; critics dismissed its many subplots and called it a "bizarre sex comedy". Next, Åkerman starred in the lead female role in the film The Bang Bang Club, which follows a group of young photojournalists in South Africa during the final stages of the apartheid. Åkerman played Robin Comley, a newspaper photo editor. The film premiered during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews from the press. In 2010, Åkerman signed up for a part in newcomer Aaron Harvey's Catch .44, a drama-thriller film with Forest Whitaker and Bruce Willis in the male lead roles. The film was generally ignored by critics and movie goers alike.

Further film and television work (2012–2014)
Åkerman had a supporting role in the 2012 comedy film Wanderlust, with Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. The film focuses on an overworked couple who end up at a commune when they try to slow things down. Åkerman played Eva, a woman at the commune. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who were divided regarding its humour, but ultimately praised the cast. Wanderlust underperformed at the box office, earning just over US$20 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Åkerman appeared in the comedy film The Giant Mechanical Man, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2012 to average reviews. She had a supporting role in the 2012 rock musical film Rock of Ages, based on the stage production of the same name. She played Constance Sack, a journalist who interviews Tom Cruise's character Stacee Jaxx. She hired a vocal coach as her role required her to sing; she and Cruise recorded a duet of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" (1984). The duet appears on the soundtrack, which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold 320,000 copies in the US. Although the film grossed lower than expected, its opening weekend gross in the United States became the third-highest ever for an adaption of a stage production.

Åkerman played opposite Nicolas Cage in the 2012 bank heist action film Stolen. The film received negative reviews from critics and bombed at the box office. Next, Åkerman appeared in the crime film Hotel Noir (2012), the comedy horror film Cottage Country (2013), and the action thriller The Numbers Station (2013), all of which were panned by critics. In 2013, Åkerman portrayed Debbie Harry in Randall Miller's film CBGB. The film received a limited theatrical release and was met with negative reviews in the press. During this time, she had several guest roles on television, including the series Newsreaders, Robot Chicken, and Welcome to Sweden. From 2012 to 2013, she had a recurring role on ABC's comedy series Suburgatory as Alex, the absent mother of the main character Tessa. Åkerman was also a contestant on the comedy series Burning Love (2012), which parodied the reality series The Bachelor.

From 2013 to 2014, Åkerman held the lead role on the ABC sitcom Trophy Wife. She played Kate Harrison, the third wife of Bradley Whitford's character. Marcia Gay Harden and Michaela Watkins co-starred as Whitford's two ex-wives. Åkerman also served as a producer. She was initially put off by the title, "I saw the title and I said, 'Hell no, I'm not playing a trophy wife!'" However, she changed her mind after reading the script; she liked the writing and how the character is not actually a trophy wife. Executive producer Lee Eisenberg said the title was "always meant to be ironic". The series received positive reviews from critics, who praised the chemistry between the actors. Åkerman received critical acclaim for her performance; Gabriel Mizrahi of The Huffington Post deemed her portrayal "terrific", and Matt Webb Mitovich of TVLine opined that she "no less than shines here, coming off as fun-loving but not flaky, warm and not overheated". Several television critics named it one of the best new sitcoms of 2013, and some criticized its title for confusing audiences by suggesting it is about something that it is not. Willa Paskin of Slate regarded the title "terrible" and "an insult to its lovely, daffy main character". Criticism was also directed towards ABC for giving the series a poor time slot. Trophy Wife aired for one season before its cancellation.

Recent work (2015–present)
Åkerman was a main cast member on Yahoo! Screen's short-lived comedy series Sin City Saints (2015), which ran for an eight-episode season. She portrayed Dusty Halford, the lawyer of the eponymous basketball team. Åkerman co-starred in Brett Haley's comedy-drama film I'll See You in My Dreams (2015) with Blythe Danner. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews. Also in 2015, she starred in the comedy slasher film The Final Girls with Taissa Farmiga. The film follows a group of high school students who are transported into a slasher film. The film received generally favourable reviews from critics, who noted its "surprising layer of genuine emotion" amidst "the meta amusement". Åkerman was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Åkerman acted in two feature films in 2016, Misconduct and The Ticket, both of which received limited release. Critical reception of Misconduct was generally negative, while The Ticket attracted mixed reviews. Åkerman's performance in the latter, as the wife of a blind man who regained his sight, was met with positive reception. The same year, Åkerman starred alongside Orlando Bloom and Kate Micucci on an episode of the Netflix comedy-drama series Easy, an anthology series with stand-alone episodes of different characters exploring relationships. Since 2016, Åkerman has been a main cast member on the Showtime drama series Billions, playing the role of Lara Axelrod, the wife of billionaire hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod, portrayed by Damian Lewis. Åkerman enjoys playing the character due to her "no-nonsense" attitude. The series has received critical acclaim throughout its four seasons, and was renewed for a fifth season in May 2019. Åkerman stepped into a recurring role for the third season to accommodate for roles in other projects, which was written into the storyline of season 3 as her character becomes Bobby Axelrod's ex-wife, allowing her to step away from the show without angering the fans.

Åkerman was cast in Brad Peyton's science fiction monster film Rampage (2018), based on the video game series of the same name, as Claire Wyden, the CEO of a company responsible for the infection and mutation of several animals. She liked playing a villain for the first time as it was a "good challenge". She said, "I don't think she had any redeeming qualities, but I don't think characters have to have redeeming qualities. It's quite fun to just enjoy being evil". The film became a commercial success with a worldwide revenue of US$428 million, ending up as the twenty-first highest-grossing film of 2018. Critical reception was mixed, with some critics deeming it a "brainless blockbuster". In 2019, Åkerman made a guest appearance on the Comedy Central educational comedy series Drunk History where she played accused murderer Beulah Annan. Åkerman played the role of Grace Richmond, the mother of Liana Liberato's character, in Martha Stephens' coming-of-age drama To the Stars (2019). The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews from critics.

Åkerman signed on for an NBC drama pilot titled Prism in February 2019. The pilot, directed by Daniel Barnz, details a murder trial told through different perspectives of each key person involved, with Åkerman as public defender Rachel Lewis. NBC passed on the project in May 2019. Åkerman played her first Swedish-speaking film role in the jukebox musical film En del av mitt hjärta, directed by Edward af Sillén and based on music by Swedish singer Tomas Ledin. The film received a Christmas 2019 release in Sweden. She also starred in The Sleepover, directed by Trish Sie for Netflix. Åkerman was cast in the comedy film Friendsgiving, directed by Nicol Paone in her directorial debut. Åkerman is also a producer on the project. She appeared in an episode of the AMC anthology series Soulmates, which premiered on 5 October 2020.

In 2020, Åkerman played the lead role of Ally in the CBS comedy pilot The Three of Us which was created by Frank Pines.

In 2023, Akerman competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "Squirrel". While having bested Michael Bolton as "Wolf" and an as-yet-unrevealed contestant as "Gargoyle" (who was spared by Jenny McCarthy ringing the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell) on "DC Superheroes Night", she was eliminated on "Sesame Street Night" alongside Lele Pons as "Jackalope".

Personal life

Having been born in Sweden and raised in Canada, Åkerman has said that she has "conflicting feelings" for the two countries. In an interview for Toronto Star, she said, "Every time I'm in Canada I feel more Swedish, and every time I'm in Sweden I feel more Canadian. I belong in both places and I love them both equally." She is a Swedish citizen but not a Canadian one, instead having permanent residency in Canada. She became an American citizen in October 2018. Apart from speaking fluent English and Swedish, she also speaks French and Spanish.

Åkerman met Italian musician Roberto Zincone in 2003, when she was the lead singer for The Petalstones, for which he was the drummer. They usually socialized after band practice, using a dictionary as Zincone could not speak English. They eventually started dating and married in Sorrento in June 2007. In 2013, they had a son called Sebastian Zincone. The couple separated in November 2013, and Zincone filed for divorce later that month. In October 2017, Åkerman announced her engagement to English actor Jack Donnelly. They married in Tulum in December 2018.

Inspired by her Buddhist upbringing, Åkerman has a lotus flower tattoo on her upper back. She also has a tattooed "Z" on her right wrist, which she got to honor Zincone when they were married.

Åkerman has revealed that she is dyslexic and that it takes her "a long time" to learn her lines: "I get horrified when I have to do table reads with the whole cast, because there's a lot of stuttering coming from me, so I have to do a lot of prep." Because of this, she prefers to improvise her lines.

Public image
In 2008 she made her first appearance on AskMen.com's "99 Most Desirable Women" list at number 60. The same year men's magazine Maxim placed her at number 59 in their annual "Hot 100" rankings. The following year the magazine ranked her at number four.

In 2012 Åkerman travelled to Tanzania with Opportunity International and has since begun support of their international development work, becoming a Young Ambassador for Opportunity in June 2012, and hosting a fundraiser for Opportunity in October 2012. She served food with fellow actress January Jones at the Los Angeles Mission's annual Thanksgiving event in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

1978 births
Living people
Actresses from Stockholm
Actresses from Toronto
American Buddhists
American film actresses
American television actresses
Buddhist feminists
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Swedish Buddhists
Swedish emigrants to Canada
Swedish emigrants to the United States
Swedish film actresses
Swedish television actresses
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
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American people of Canadian descent
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Another Lit Essay I thought would be useful to fellow googlers
Steven Harmon
Teacher Michael Thorton
American Lit & Composition
The "Bitchy Flibbergibbet" of Slaughterhouse-Five
Obviously both Slaughterhouse-Five and Going After Cacciato are modernist war novels that use story structure to emphasize the mood or the mechanics of the story itself, however Kurt Vonnegut plays with the story and reality truths in something expected out of Phillip K. Dick or an episode of The Twilight Zone rather than the haze of war and it's reality through the lens of the soldier. Writing style aside Going After Cacciato holds the more traditional values from Democracy to the alienation and corruption from this materialistic conformity being the decline of the society, whereas in Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut uses the sci-fi and humor bits to drive the themes of egalitarianism, freedom of expression, and optimism which aren't all distinctly American, but in context hold very true to ideas valued in America.
Going after Cacciato was a traditional war story that used the symbol of Cacciato as the black and white nature that everyone wishes war was to justify it taking place at all, but in modern wars since Vietnam with non uniform combatants things get messy quick and there is no true victor in cases like World War Two when the enemy were really terrible people accountable for mass genocide and extreme nationalism turned evil; this is the difference between these wars that influenced the themes present. Notwithstanding it is easy to see that in terms of theme both books seem to be accurate depictions of war since in both opinions do not wish to glorify it by any means in order to ultimately discourage future wars which is what all true soldiers feel in my view. "My father died many years ago now of natural causes. So it Goes. He was a sweet man. He was a gun nut too. He left me his guns. They Rust"And it should be noted that Slaughterhouse five is also named The Children's Crusade A duty-dance with death on account of Mary who thought that books and other popular forms of media encouraged war by pretending that wars were fought with brave virtuous men and not boys as they were "She didn't want her babies or anybody else's babies to be killed in wars. And she thought that wars were partly encouraged by books and movies".
Being more empathetic with the enemy, not all were fascists and not all of the VC were so bad, they were just people, and that showed in Going After Cacciato when Li is almost embarrassed to inform the soldiers that "...according to the rules, I fear you gentlemen are now my prisoners." making them all prisoners in a fruitless war. In Slaughterhouse Five when the platoon of American soldier's were transported to Dresden there they outnumbered their guards 20/1, and because of this the guards were scared of receiving these prisoners of war, but "Their terror evaporated. There was nothing to be afraid of. Here were more crippled human beings, more fools like themselves." which was another scene that supports the notion of soldier's being people on both ends at the end of the day which doesn't excuse their actions and crimes against humanity like the Trafaldamorian philosophy of no free will and set points in time that cannot be changed therefore everything is meant to be and death being a partial setback, but it goes more along the lines of the "anti glacier book" or anti war book if you will that war is unchanging, but it's a fact of life.
Even in Billy's self destructive, almost suicidal tendencies there is a lot of thoughtfulness, compassion, and prosperity in thought that makes this war book not a comedy as it states on the cover, but an optimistic light read that left me with a different way to comfort someone at a funeral. In referencing a bottle of champagne in its inanimate being "It didn't make a pop. The champagne was dead. So it goes.", the philosophy of death being a temporary setback since the dead person, place, or thing was still very alive in other times is probably the most comforting tid bit I take away from this book, and its used throughout the entire novel full of gruesome and quite frequent deaths from natural causes to Nazis. "Billy didn't really like life at all" to things not bothering billy since he knows he can focus on the good times instead of the present. "I like you just the way you are. Do you really? Really, said Billy Pilgrim. He had already seen a lot of their marriage, thanks to time travel. Knew that it was going to be at least bearable all the way." and in that he was content, content in standing "there politely, giving the marksman another chance". It's very humorous, but refreshing. There was even a moment when Billy was watching television backwards and saw a war documentary backwards "It was their business to put them in the ground to hide them carefully, so they would never hurt anybody ever again", so instead of digging raw material to build bombs, they were hiding this material which was alright with Billy in his optimistic point of view without any curiosity or hope for the future since he is already aware of what takes place there thanks to the fourth dimension. I was rolling in my seat reading this.
Even if this paper is already meets the minimum requirement in terms of length I do want to go over egalitarianism in Slaughterhouse five on how these things could happen to anyone and tend to do so, which also kind of ties into why I think its odd how Slaughterhouse five is even in the modernist cannon since it runs parallel with the postmodern book we had read a snippet of in class called House of Leaves in the nature of identical quotes "Why Davidson? Why not someone else?" and in Slaughterhouse five "Vy you? Vy anybody?" Another prime example onto why I think a case could be made for Slaughterhouse five being more of a postmodern book is because as said in The New York Times's review of the book "The story is sandwiched between an autobiographical introduction and epilog", and as postmodern that sounds the main reason is that Kurt Vonnegut did server in WWII and was in Dresden, and his alter ego Billy goes from a third person story seamlessly to saying "That was I. That was me. That was the author of this book." which doesn't really occur in many places other than postmodernism and poetry. As for this time it didn't need to be noted, however the context of the previous quote was referring to Kurt Vonnegut shitting himself which was a good enough excuse for confusing lit students on the primary literary movement the book belongs in.
On the contrary however the similarities are distinct in terms of writing style since both books stories are out of order, overlapping, or just tossed in a salad bowl. Going after Cacciato does this in transitioning between the main plot of the chase for Cacciato, the observation post at night, and the war stories which immerses you in the passage of time and the haze of the terrain putting you into the soldier's shoes. Slaughterhouse five just jumps around at random since Billy has become unstuck in time and ends up in different scenes in his life, some dreams, some reality, but either way its entertaining and makes sense of science fiction.
Furthermore according to pbs's literary time line definition of modernism "Generally, modernists were driven by the belief that the assurances once provided by religion, politics, or society no longer sufficed", and that brings me to the modernist literature of Kilgore Trout inside the modernist literature of the book itself "so they were trying to reinvent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a big help." which is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut was doing after the war, so is he Billy or Trout? Or is he both? Honestly I don't know, but then again in post modernism a wise American Lit teacher once said "In post modernism there is no absolute." which helps my case for the book being postmodern, but yields to offer any points on why its still considered a modern book other than the fact that the science fiction philosophy is the new assurance that does suffice for some.
It would be nice to say I understand this book, but it's much to esoteric like the movie Waking Life for me to do so on the first of many future fun readings which won't lose the spectacle which is something I cannot say about Going After Cacciato since it was much to gritty for me to have to endure another reading of which was kinda the intention to begin with for O'Brien. It would be nice to say I understand this book and how my concept of death is dead, so it goes.
Lehmann-haupt, Reviewed Christopher. "Slaughterhouse-Five, Or the Children's Crusade." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Mar. 1969. Web. 06 May 2015.
Matterson, Stephen. "1890-1940s MODERNISM." American Masters/The Amercan Novel/ Literary Timeline. PBS, 2003. Web. 06 May 2015.
I don't have a clue when the fuck I posted this as...
Another Lit Essay I thought would be useful to fel...
Blogg-er I hardly even know her
Some nature art


text: module.exports = require('./lib/winston-newrelic');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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At the start of the Civil War Kentucky tried to be neutral. Because of it's location and the divided loyalties of the citizens, Kentucky was put right in the middle. Use of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were important to the north and important plantation owners were needed in the south. Kentucky was a divided state, with family and friends finding themselves fighting each other. Therefore you will find Union and Confederate soldiers.
If you find any link below that does not work, please let me know so I can check it. Also, if you know of a link to help with military search, let me know. Be sure to add a subject line of Clay County.


Now mutual funds, that was eight trillion dollars. $8 trillion.
So what is a mutual fund?
money Money changes Changes everything.
Everything, Will Goetzmann claims that they date back to the 1770s.
This is the name of a Dutch.
Of course, it's the Dutch who invented everything in finance.
Well, I'm exaggerating, but it's I like that.
They had one. I can't pronounce that.
That's the name of a mutual fund from the 1700s.
There were many investment companies that developed over the centuries.
but they weren't properly regulated.
regulated, and a lot of them were playing tricks, tricks.
much better prospects than the general public that were in the Class B shares.
it led to a public antagonism against investment funds.
Now, the leader in the United States was Massachusetts Investment Trust called MIT.
No connection with that Institute of Technology.
It had a fund with only one class of investors.
and it redeemed on demand.
you could get your money back any day with just a phone call. Now, they had telephone.
Everyone had a phone. You could call MIT and say, "I want my money up."
And they would cash you out at value.
In other words, what your share of the total MIT portfolio was.
a model for investment management.
and they began advocating for this kind of investment company.
although the word mutual fund doesn't appear in that act.
What they do is a classic mutual fund as defined by the SEC under regulation.
but you're not buying shares on an exchange.
"I'd like to invest in this fund."
then you will come in as an equal at 4:00 pm on the day you do that.
They'll They only deal at the closing price.
So then then, you now own a share of the overall portfolio for the mutual fund.
The mutual fund subtracts expenses for managing the fund.
your share of what's in that portfolio.
you call them up again and say say, "I'd like it."
they'll figure out what your share of the total portfolio is and give you that in cash.
Another kind of investment fund was not invented until the 1990s.
It's called an exchange traded fund.
And fund, and it operates differently than a mutual fund.
which is a good background reading.
maybe they're more pitched at people who like to trade in and out.
They don't like this 4:00 pm rule.
more liquid and tends to have lower management or expense ratios.
They were promoted as for smart investors who don't need the mutual fund structure.
The first ETF was for Standard and & Poor 500 stock price index.
Spider, SPDR, that's Standard and Poor Depositary Receipts.
And they were only going to invest in the S&P 500.
You could actually buy the S&P 500 by buying an ETF.
Let me step back a minute.
Mutual funds are called open-end funds because you can pull your money in and out.
and you can get it out at market value at 4:00 pm of every day.
There's another kind of fund which Forboce Fabozzi talks about called a closed-end fund.
that you buy a share in the fund on a stock exchange.
"I want my money back."
but you can't go back to them and ask for it.
Instead, you have to sell your shares.
mutual funds is that closed-end funds are trading continually all day long.
you don't have to wait until 4:00 pm to get your money out.
If you want to do that, you just sell on the exchange immediately.
and sometimes they sell at premiums and sometimes they sell at discount.
the value of the fund is equal to the value of the investments.
investments because you can't get your money out.
In other words, it's very hard to get your money out.
You say, "Why don't other investors know this?"
or something like that the management of the closed-end fund is incompetent.
So ETFs were developed as an alternative to closed-end funds and to mutual funds funds.
It invention, it was at the American Stock Exchange in 1993.
I met the guy who invented them.
but it's not that old.
He said said, "How can we make it something like a closed-end fund?
Let's traded trade it on the exchange and make sure that it tracks the underlying value."
it's this is immediately redeemable.
we want to create a mechanism that will restore the price.
So the mechanism is that they have authorized participants participants.
as opposed to just shareholders in the ETF market.
authorized to either create or redeem units in large amounts say, a million dollars.
That wouldn't appeal to retail investors.
that the ETF doesn't sell at a premium or a discount.
the authorized participants can redeem.
There's a process for them to redeem the shares and get the underlying shares back.
So they will do that if there is ever much of a discount.
they can create more ETF.
let's say a million dollars.
It's dollars, it's in the contract for the ETF. So they do this.
the ETF price tracking the underlying price.
I don't think it was shown separately on the Federal Reserve.
I think it would be understocked, but a lot of people own stocks through ETFs now.
But it's still not as big as mutual funds.
but I don't think it's as much.
typically, something like 12 basis points.


Aaron and I decided to meet this morning and go for a little cruise with a boat from the Oak Bay Sailing school, a cal 20 named red current. These boats really feel like dinghys, but overall it was like sailing its bigger brother just bit more nimble in turns and a bit wilder in container ship wake. Today was glassy water and light winds in most of Oak bay, so we motorsailed most of the time and sailed off the motor when the wind was enough to push us over the currents.
I got to the marina at about 10 and met Aaron for a quick coffee. Aaron had just been handed the keys, so we walked down to the boat and rigged her up as well as we could to deal with the light winds. I watched as Aaron hanked on the jib and I helped set up the sheets. It was a pretty quick process and we were on the water in moments. Aaron knew the marina, so he did the honors of leaving the dock. We got out past the turkey head breakwater and found we were the only sailing vessel out on the water. That's always a good sign, right?
Aaron pulled out the chart and we made a course for Baynes channel to see if the east winds would be there. The buoyage is fairly clear in Baynes and plumper, and we stayed out of most of the rocky places. The water got glassier as we passed Cadboro bay and we were totally on motor, the mainsail flapped listlessly from side to side. Cadboro point was our first glimpse of wind patterns on the water. Once the wind freshened a bit we turned off the motor and had a little light wind practice. The variable directions made it kind of hard to consistently keep our sails full, but we were still at the edge of Baynes, so as the little wind patch passed, we just got dragged toward Strongtide island.
I tuned into the weather and heard a report for 4 knot winds at Trial island. That was about the best we were going to get, so we turned tail and headed toward Trial island. We passed through mayor channel and out to Trial island. We got a little distracted by some other sailboats heading out toward the traffic lane. We followed them a little ways to see if they knew any secrets, but they seemed lost, so as we became becalmed again, we decided to maybe try Juan de Fuca.
Right near Staines point, we began to get the predicted 4 knot wind and we were immediately back to sailing. We kept to the outside of Brodie rock and played with points of sail in order to get to Gonzales point and line up for our eventual docking. The wind and little bits of chop made for a couple of happy... us. We tacked as we got near Gonzales point and got another great little boost of power. The boat sailed nicely back to the Lee Rock Buoy, where we took down the sails and headed back.
For some reason, one of the boats we passed on our way out turned around and came back in as we came in. We were also followed in by a bright yellow boat called "Tigger," and I snapped a quick photo of his boat on the glassy water as we came in. We docked nice and easy and made the boat fast. It was a pretty successful day despite the challenge of sailing in light air.


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Formed in 2012 in Kobe, The fin. consists of Yuto Uchino on vocals and synthesizer, Ryosuke Odagaki on guitar, Takayasu Taguchi on bass and Kaoru Nakazawa on drums. Their sound often is described a cross between M83 and Phoenix, citing chill wave acts Toro Y Moi and Washed Out as influences.The band released a self-release EP, Glowing Red on the Shore in 2013 and as a promising new band, they were invited to perform at major Japanese festivals like FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL.
The debut album, Days With Uncertainty was recorded and mixed by the singer, Yoto, and mastered by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Washed Out, Beach Fossils, Warpaint, Deerhunter). Positively facing everyday uncertainty, their stylish sophisticated sound is rather confident and natural.Days With Uncertainty was released in December 2014 and critically acclaimed by Japanese press.
Considered as one of the most anticipated newcomers in Japan, The fin. is joining Japan Nite, popular annual showcase kicking off March 20th at SXSW in Austin, TX, and making stops in Chicago, IL, Columbus, OH, New York, NY, Athens, GA (Slingshot Festival), Denver, CO, Los Angels, and San Francisco, CA.
3/20(fri) Austin, TX - Elysium "SXSW 2015"


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BibleDaily Readings
OLD TESTAMENTNEW TESTAMENT
Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
All Commentaries on Matthew 26:59 Go To Matthew 26
Cornelius a Lapide
But the Chief Priests and all the Council sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death. Here comes in S. John"s narrative (xviii19). The High Priest "asked Jesus of His disciples and of His doctrine," as is there said, because, says Euthymius, "he wished to convict Him of introducing strange doctrines, and of stirring up sedition." For it was the duty of the High Priest to inquire, into heresies and new sects. But Jesus firmly and prudently replied that He had taught openly, and that those who heard His teaching were there present, and though His enemies, could speak to it. Let him ask them what He had taught them. For there is no surer evidence of innocence and sound teaching than that which comes from unfriendly hearers. For had Christ stated His own doctrine, they might have urged that through fear of condemnation He had said one thing in the Council and another in public. "He replied not arrogantly," says S. Chrysostom, "but as confident in the truth." Whence He says, "Why askest thou Me?" Why dost thou insidiously and captiously ask Me, thou crafty High Priest, to catch something out of My mouth wherewith to accuse and condemn Me? Thou canst easily learn from the common opinion of the people what I taught them. If thou knowest it not, thou hast not done thy duty as High Priest. And if thou wishest to know it now, ask the bystanders, My enemies, who have often heard Me. Let them produce, if they can, a single untrue or unsound word of Mine. For I know they cannot do so in truth. But when S. John says "that one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand," S. Cyril thinks that he was struck with His teaching, and wished to remove this impression by striking Him. He struck Him on the cheek, as vindicating the honour of the High Priest. Such a blow, inflicted with a mailed hand, was both severe and disgraceful, as appears from the "sacred countenance" which is religiously preserved at S. Peter"s, and exhibited to the people in Passion Week. "What more audacious act?" says & Chrysostom. "Let the Heaven be horrified, let the earth tremble at the patience of Christ and the insolence of His servants." "Methinks," says S. Cyril, "the whole universe would have shuddered had it known what it meant: for the Lord of Glory was smitten by the impious hand of a man." It is a marvel that this hand was not at once shrivelled up, nay, that the earth had not swallowed the man up alive. But the gentleness and love of Christ prevented this, who called him and many of his fellows to repentance ( Acts 2:37). Just as Jeremiah foretold in sorrow, or rather in astonishment, "He will give His cheek to him that smiteth Him. He will be filled full of reproach" ( Lamentations 3:30). Now comes in S. Matthew"s narrative. Finding they could find nothing against Him from those who were there, "they sought false witnesses," as despairing of finding true testimony, because Christ"s Wisdom of Solomon , truthfulness, and sanctity were fully known to all the people. That they might deliver Him to death. This was the great end for which they sought for false witnesses as a necessary means, though the sole end of justice is to condemn only on true evidence, and to inflict on false witnesses a correspondent punishment. For they wished for their own credit not to appear men of violence, but impartial Judges , and consequently to be proceeding judicially against Him, though they were at the same time both judges and accusers, against every rule of justice and equity. "They craftily devise," says S. Chrysostom, "the outward form and appearance of justice, disguising their craft under the veil of a trial" (Vict. Ant. on Mark xiv.). Again, they wished Him to be condemned by Pilate, but they knew he would not condemn Him unless the crime were proved by witnesses to be deserving of death. The Chief Priests therefore seek false witnesses against Jesus, the Author of life and Saviour of the world, because, though they knew it not, God had decreed to give us, by His death, life both here and hereafter.
About Catena
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. - 2 Peter 1:20


text:
Pre - Primary
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Shree Swaminarayan M.G.K English School was established in the year 1994, keeping the concern to provide the best education for students by well qualified and experienced faculties which would be productive as well as socially beneficial.
Our Vision is 'to empower students to meet social challenges and shoulder responsibilities successfully'. Our students are to be lifelong learners and use education in promoting social, moral and spiritual values.
Our Mission is 'to create wholesome human beings capable of nurturing culture and tradition'. We are in the process of preparing students who can meet the challenges and would never be second to any student of even from metro cities. The ongoing process is supported with intelligent and talented teaching staff. And the method of teaching under the guidelines of CBSE ensures that classroom teaching is not a one way lecture rather it is more of interaction and conversation between students and the teachers. The teacher enters the classroom with prior lesson plans and with teaching aids to give the students an opportunity of learning with concerned activities and examples.
Our school located at a place called Chhaya , Porbandar. We prove it by adopting new technologies in teaching. Our technology based classroom, the first of its kind in Chhaya, supported with animations, elaborations, and dialogues with clear and perfect pronunciation, further learning on account of the theatre effect created, leading to the active involvement of students and enhancing their understanding of the subject. Our science labs designed and maintained under the guidelines of CBSE are equipped with all the basic and advanced apparatus. Chemicals, glassware and burner system are provided in chemistry lab. The students practise the various experiments under the safe and sound instructions of the teachers.
Various specimen collections in Bio lab make the ambience perfect to explore and involve deep into the subject. In Physics and Maths labs Students persist in making future engineers of our country. Along with the academics, we nourish our students with exposure to several co-curricular activities. The school has hobby clubs which recognise the hidden talents of average students and enrich the same to meet global standards. Our co-curricular activities include dance, music, yoga, sports, gymnastics, debate, dramatics and poetry.
Our plans are to develop our school to international standards providing all possible facility to our students, staff, and our associates. Shree Swaminarayan M.G.K English School, the School with the global perspective, with its very talented teaching and efficient management, is at its best in making the student into a responsible and productive citizen of our country
Beautiful Quote
A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special
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Tag Archives: Veteran
V-J Day, Victory over Japan
August 17, 2015 by islandkings
"Well Darling last night came the most wonderful news I have heard for a long time. Did you think so? I was working last night so didn't have a chance to celebrate didn't even have a drink." ~An exchange between TSgt Donald Larson and His Girl Dolores
Young Don and Dolores during WWII
Jody, in reorganizing what we affectionately refer to as our "crap room," just yesterday found a packet of letters from her Grandfather to his future bride Dolores during his service as part of the Army Air Forces in WWII. Jody and her Mother, Bonnie, thought these letters missing. Searches on both ends occurred without success. In these particular letters we were able to hear of the end of the war through Jody's Grandfather's eyewitness words. And oddly enough, these words turned up this particular week.
The Ending of the War, almost an Afterthought!
A strange coincidence? Yes. This week marks the passing of an indelible date to people on both sides of the Pacific: the anniversary of the surrender of Imperial Japan. On August 15th, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito formally announced his government's surrender, and in the process, effectively ended World War II.
B-17 Flying Fortress crew of 10. Donald Larson is standing all the way to the right. He was already an old man being already in his 30s.
Fighting through Flak
At the time, Jody's Grandfather, TSgt Donald Edgar Larson, was stationed in Wisconsin, having previously survived 35 bombing missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress mechanic and aerial gunner. From the summer of 1944 through early winter of 1945, Don fought the war in Europe as part of the Eight Air Force in the skies over Germany and France. In a somewhat less glamorous yet infinitely safer role, at the time of the Japanese surrender, he found himself driving trucks at the Army Air Force's Truax Field, just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. His love, Dolores, was in Iowa.
Manning a Fortress Waist Gun
Truax Field was activated as an Army Air Forces airfield in June 1942, and served as the headquarters for the Army Air Forces Eastern Technical Training Center, tasked with training B-17 mechanics and radio operators, and in later times, radar operators for the "new" B-29 Superfortress. Today, it is an Air National Guard Base, co-located with Dane County Regional Airport, home of the Wisconsin ANG 115th Fighter Wing, equipped with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. In another odd connection and "what are the odds" turn of events (see Long Odds and Unlikely Connections for more), this past spring I ended up befriending and training in scuba a number of reservists from this very base and unit while they were deployed to Kadena Air Base here on Okinawa, Japan.
Donald as an Army Air Force E4
At noon on August 6th, 1945, Gyokuon-hōsō (玉音放送 "Jewel Voice Broadcast") was heard in a radio broadcast in which Japanese Emperor Hirohito read out the "Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War" (大東亜戦争終結ノ詔書 Daitōa-sensō-shūketsu-no-shōsho). It was translated into English and simulcast throughout the Pacific and in America. In what was probably the first time that an Emperor of Japan had spoken to the common people, he announced that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military. The bloody Battle of Okinawa, the twin devastating atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet invasion of Japanese-held territories all conspired to bring the War in the Pacific to a quick and somewhat unexpected end.
No Zip Codes!
TSgt Larson got the news on August 14th, as most of America did due to the time-traveling dimension of the international dateline and the many time zones separating the West from the Far East. In a letter dated August 15th, 1945, he writes:
"Well Darling last night came the most wonderful news I have heard for a long time. Did you think so? I was working last night so didn't have a chance to celebrate didn't even have a drink. I suppose you celebrated last night or today, right? Boy, Darling its to (sic) good to be true to think this was is finaly (sic) over at last. That's going to be one happy day when I get of this thing which I think will be soon. You should have heard some of the guys around here they almost went wild you can imagine what a noise there was."
The date was known to the allies of the time as "Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day)," and remains so for the United Kingdom. However, official commemorations in the United States honoring the ending of World War II occur on September 2nd, when the formal signing of the surrender document on the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay actually transpired.
Honorable Discharge
In Japan, August 15 usually is known as the "Memorial Day for the End of the War" (終戦記念日 Shūsen-kinenbi). The official name for the day, however, is the "Day for Mourning of War Dead and Praying for Peace" (戦没者を追悼し平和を祈念する日 Senbotsusha o tsuitōshi heiwa o kinensuru hi), nomenclature fairly recently adopted by the Japanese government in 1982.
Postage was only 3 cents, but look at military pay of the time!
The end of the war, a momentous occasion by any standard, is oddly almost an afterthought in Don's letters to his girlfriend. Perhaps he knew that his combat days were over in that war, having survived the Luftwaffe and the 8th Army Air Force. Equally as interesting, the envelopes used to send his letters were addressed merely to just "Miss Dolores Arens, Le Mars, Iowa," while the postage was free (but 3 cents for the general public). The postmarks are all from Madison, WI, and dated 1945. Such a simpler time on most fronts. Except for that horrible, global war….
4-Engine Bombers of Every Boy's Dreams
What I find quite humorous and enlightening, though, is a letter concerning the "new stationery" which Don was trying out in a letter sent July 26th, 1945, somewhat timidly, on his sweetheart: "Here is some of that new stationery I was telling you about. I still don't know if I should send it or not but here goes," Don hints. His later comments below (in bold), which also are found in the letter which is quoted in part above, confirm that boys will be boys, through time and even at the crossroads of history when a world war happens to be ending:
My Dearest Dolores,
Hello my Darling how are you any way (sic)? I had begin (sic) to wonder if you was still living or not as it had been so long since I had heard from you from the 1st until the 15th that's a long time between letters.
I planned on waiting until I got an answer but same as usual I didn't. I should wait as long as you did before I write but some thing (sic) won't let me.
Darling I just got your letter yesterday saying that you got the watch O.K. it went to Chanute and they was how about sending it on to me.
Oh! Yes how's the sun burn you mentioned in that letter? Hope its O.K.
Yes, Darling I am still driving trucks not such a bad job at that but I can think of other things I'd rather be doing.
Darling, you know I would come and see you if I could but you can imagine how things are here in the army. Its to (sic) late in the game to screw up the works now.
So you liked that stationery did you? That was some four engine bomber wasn't it? I couldn't say if it was a B-29 or what it was, Ha! It was a new model of some kind.
I got Romies (sic) address too I'll write to him not saying that it will do any good, but if he isn't getting your letters it seems as tho (sic), you would get them back.
Well My Darling think I have wrote (sic) enough for this time and guess I'll wait until I get an answer before I write again. Should I?
Good night My Darling see you in my Dreams.
All My Love, Don
Thankfully, Don and Dolores' relationship survived both that world war and some rather risqué stationery (for the time). The emergence of this correspondence during this week of historical significance provides a beautifully clocked look back through time, and into the roots of our families. And one that offers an overlay of everyday humanity that sometimes we forget always permeates even the most auspicious of occasions.
As an E7 at Separation in September 1945
Posted in Family & Friends, Okinawa Living, Traces of War, US Military & Okinawa.	Tagged Army Air Forces, B-17, B-17 Flying Fortress, family, Flying Fortress, japan, Okinawa, Surrender of Japan, Traces of War, V-J Day, Veteran, Victory, Victory over Japan, VJ Day, World War II, world war two, WWII


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The arrival of April means that we are less than four weeks away from the opening of The Farnsworth Invention. It was fun giving a brief, ever so subtle, gratuitous plug for the show during my TEDxFortMcMurray presentation. The invention of the television, which is what the play is all about, was my first example
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Pacing backstage in the moments leading up to my TEDxFortMcMurray presentation, I was doing everything I could think of to get my emotions in check. "Breathing. Breathing. Breathing," I texted my wife who was out of town on a course and unable to attend the inaugural inspiring speakers event in our community. I shared my
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There's a group in the UK called "MusicTank," which is supposed to represent something of a "think tank" around the music industry. It was the head of MusicTank, back at Midem, who "joked" about how everyone there could solve the industry's problems, because all the stakeholders were present, "except the consumers, since they can't afford to be here." That should give you an idea of one of the main reasons why the industry is in so much trouble. It never really considers the folks who actually listen to the music to be a serious constituent.
The group started with the wrong premise: how to sell recorded music. What they should have been looking at was how to make money from recorded music. The two things are quite different, and starting with the wrong premise entirely will lead you down the wrong road.
While this paper does consider the "consumer viewpoint" and does make some decent points about consumers and music, it never looks at how consumers interact with music beyond buying or downloading. It doesn't look at the many ways that a fan might support a band.
Most importantly, the paper spends a lot of time getting the perspective of the various collections societies. This gets to the root of the problem. These collections societies are middlemen who profit off of the inefficiencies of the old system. Asking them how to fix the system is always going to get the same answer: just create yet another licensing right and let us handle the collecting of it.
It's that last issue that is clearly the big problem with the music industry moving forward. You're never going to get an industry to move forward when you think that (a) the consumer (i.e., the demand side) isn't a major constituent and (b) you're asking those who profit from the inefficient system to define how the new more efficient system will work. The whole process of collective licensing is a joke that needs to be done away with. The collections societies not constituents -- they're the parasites feeding off an old system that doesn't need them anymore.
consumer representatives are still not consumers. Much in the same sense how politicians clearly do not represent the people that they supposedly are.
This is like expecting consumer reports to be the most accurate source of information, it is quite far from it.
How stupid can you be? Oh wait, you're exactly the one he mentions, musictank. No surprise. Good job at failing almost immediately.
Calling people names does little to advance (y)our argument. Any points you make are lost as soon as you resort to insults.
It was kinda hard to read the wall of text but I believe that's what he was saying. They could not get a consumer representative but they did get consumers themselves.
And Sam, I'm not going to sign up for your newsletter just to look at one report. That's as bad as putting your data behind a registration wall.
Consider the consumer's eyes, try out paragraphs.
1.) Paragraphs. Ever heard of them?
2.) Consumer representatives are not consumers, nor do they represent consumers as a whole.
3.) You and your group are a bunch of idiots trying to keep a failing, dying, on-its-last-legs business model on life support, and the sooner you drive the stake into the heart of the old model and start looking for a model that serves everyone -- not just the license holders -- with fairness and equality, the better off everyone will be. Except the people who cling to that dead business model, of course.
The only two parties that matter, are the artists and their customers.
The ISPs are dumb pipe providers, they do not need to be involved. Any attempts to involve them, or allow them to involve themselves is a stupid legacy reaction.
The Government is irrelevant to the discussion. They do not need to be involved either. Why? Because consumers DO NOT ACCEPT the copyright laws as they are now. Because consumers do not accept the law, civil disobedience ensues, and the law is not followed. Might as well just get rid of it, its only wasting money to try enforcing it. IT WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED BECAUSE ITS NOT NEEDED AND UNFAIR.
UK Music (the org) is a waste of music industry funds. Just how many collections of legacy mindsets do you have to form before you recognize that the legacy mindset is no longer valid? The central scarcity that was carefully managed is no longer scarce. No matter how many committees you form, DISTRIBUTION OF BITS WILL NEVER BECOME SCARCE AGAIN.
BPI is the same thing as UK Music, a waste of music industry resources. Yet another committee of scarcity managers trying to make distribution scarce again so they have something to manage.
PRS for music is an organization responsible for "taxing" people for listening to the radio. How is this party relevant to discussions for new business models in a "distribution is free" world? Because they have experience making people pay for free things?
When you invite a hundred middle men to the table in a discussion on how to eliminate the middle men, all you are going to get is ideas on how to increase the middle mans share of the market.
What good is that? Stop wasting your money!
How to save the music industry? The best idea is to simply scrap the current one and start fresh. However, if you must save the current music industry, here's how.
I agree with Ima, except I don't ever seeing anyone scrapping the current industry while there is still even a glimmer of a possibility that they might benefit from it financially. I expect it will just trundle on, hemorrhaging cash until it implodes under the weight of it's own ego. Meanwhile the consumer will continue to find new and innovative ways of experiencing music without the "help" of middle men.
I was told that if I wanted to build a really good car that I needed to study the good ones and how they were built and the place to look was NOT a junkyard. That seems to fit here.
Re: something told to me..
You'd also do well to study the bad ones so that, in aiming to build a great car, you don't end up in the dead-ends that the bad car makers found themselves in. Everyone *wants* to make a great car, few manage it. You need to study both ways.
"The collections societies not constituents -- they're the parasites feeding off an old system that doesn't need them anymore."
I think you're missing the word "are". The collections societies ARE not constituents.
Other than that, well written article. I enjoy the stance that techdirt represents, and often wonder if, in economic terms, the site finds itself in a Objectivist mindset. If it weren't for the interference of the government, the free market principles would've pushed groups like the RIAA etc out of business long ago.
Sometimes I have to wonder, when the current "collections societies" are strung up and killed off like witches, what will replace them?
After all, almost all distribution industries (from food to building material to movies to books) benefit greatly from some centralization, call it command and control. It is almost natural in the way that a clearing house is created either regionally or nationally in almost all of those industries.
So when you toss out the current music industry structure, will not another centralized structure come into play? I can't picture 10,000 radio stations and X thousands of websites and such all wanting to deal with artists individually each day.
No, but the artist themselves can be the control point of their work. And from there, you can interact directly with the artist. You can download, make comments, view videos, get tour updates, etc. The whole point is to get rid of the middle man and deal directly with the producer of the goods. And from this type of model, I think a band would prove to be more responsive to their fan base than the current model. Plus, any money made will go directly to the artist. Not some legacy collections group that controls an industry. Your missing the point with your statement of "10,000 radio stations and X thousands of websites and such all wanting to deal with artists individually each day". The point that the post is trying to make is that the fan should have the ultimate choice of how to interact with an artist. So by having "radio stations" and "web sites", you are again creating a middle man. The point is to do away with this altogether.
I can't agree with you, Manny. Middlemen will ALWAYS be needed in the music industry, because they bring skills necessary to manage and establish acts that young artists generally don't have.
The problem with the current system is the middle men have gone from the 'means to an end' to the end itself (the Publishing arm of EMI is worth more in value then its current roster of artists).
What we need is a re-balancing of things, so that the bulk of revenue goes to support artists rather then supporting a system that supports artists as an after-thought. That might be best accomplished by changing the roles of middlemen from controllers of content to enablers.
Also, I object to the idea that fans should have the 'ultimate' choice of interaction with an artist. Sure they should have choices, and artists should work hard to provide what they want, but the notion that an artist should give up control to his(or her) fans is a bit daft. Who in their right minds would agree to that?
From my (rapidly shrinking) middle ground, this is a smart post.
It doesn't satisfy anyone's desire to hang the music industry, nor does it further the revolution, but it is sane and moderate.
Agreed - you can evolution without revolution. You know that old Who song "the parting on the left. Are now parting on the right". Shooting the record industry would just mean new middle men with new ways to sneak off with the money.
I think the centralisation will always be there. Mike wants an industry where there is no need for fee's to be collected, that work simply by providing promotional benefits to the artist...but if that is the future I'm afraid we're still a very long way from it.
But the system in its current guise really needs an overhaul. Sound Exchange in the US and the PRS in the UK...both could do with some serious overhauls to bring them up to 21st century standards.
But ultimately these centralised organisations seem to be tools of the majors, rather then of Governments, and politicians rarely get involved.
Harold, the collection societies have nothing to do with distribution. That's why we call them "collection" societies. They collect money, and maybe even distribute a few pennies once in a while, but they aren't even in the same league as the world's smallest distributor. It doesn't require a "distributor" to mail checks every once in a while.
Have you ever tried to comprehend anything you read, BEFORE you comment?
collector societies exist as part of the process to collect the money for certain groups. They don't just collect money in vapour.
Perhaps if you actually spent some time in the music business (I have) you might understand a little better.
I love the fact that you can download the whitepaper "Let's Sell Recorded Music!" for free, in exchange for signing up for MusicTank's monthly newsletter.
Apparently not charging for the content that you've created in order to build a long-term audience for your other output is an idea that has merit. Or possibly not. Now I'm confused.
"Please note: This link is valid for 5 days, and will then expire."
"Want to share this report? Frankly, we'd rather you shared the link below in order for colleagues and friends to download the report in the same way you have, rather than share the report file itself! Please do share this:"
"Why? We're a not-for-profit organisation. Every unique visitor to the MusicTank website will indirectly help sustain the network and its activities."
The irony is perhaps found in trying to promote such a scheme on blog like TechDirt...which manages to support itself without asking for our email addresses.
So, out of one side of their mouth they're saying they want you to share their message, but then they're putting up a barrier that all but guarantees the sharing will be crippled.
You then clicked on the link and were able to download the pdf right. Their site doesn't have ads, while this one does.
Is it seriously that hard to click an unsubscribe link?
Most of TechDirt is actually supported by the work they do through the Insight Community, not the ads no one clicks on.
The RIAA and MPAA will look up and say "Save us!"
Mike says: "These collections societies are middlemen who profit off of the inefficiencies of the old system."
It might be useful, Mike, if you would identify the collection societies of which you speak then explain exactly how they profit.
The collection societies referenced in the MusicTank paper are not-for-profit advocates for their constituencies.
The PRS for Music (http://www.prsformusic.com) in the UK, for example, represents songwriters and music publishers. They bargain collectively for their members - license, collect and protect their members rights, and pay out everything they take in, less overhead of about 15% which is rational for the activities they undertake.
You seem to think it would be beneficial for songwriters to cut themselves loose from their societies and swarm the world like overly agitated ants to individually license, track and collect royalties from each of the thousands of music users who use their songs to make a profit.
Explain to us exactly how they could do that...and what would happen if users told those lonely, stand alone songwriters to screw off?
It's always a little easier to get someone to take you seriously when you have 600,000 other songwriters standing behind you.
Songwriters, by the way, are not forced to join a collection society - they always have the option to go it alone ... most writers, the smallest of small business people, would view you suggestion as a very bad business decision.
Be that as it may, Mike, it would be really valuable to all of us if you would give us some examples of collection society fat cats ... and, explain just how they are getting fat.
You might want to take the time to find out what Collections Societies actually do before responding.
If you visited here semi regularly you wouldn't have to ask for examples as they have been given before.
Some of these agencies have threatened mechanic shops for playing radios loud enough that patriots could hear them from the waiting room.
What purpose does it serve to collect from them? They have already collected from the radio stations. Is threatening small business for simply having a radio turned on really helping anyone? And how about the ever increasing amount of artists who are always against the actions of those who claim to represent them.
Just because these agencies say they represent artists does not mean they have the artists best interests at heart. They have a job and they are fighting to keep it. That is all.
Not just "some of these," the worst offenders are PRS, who was a major player in the MusicTank report.
I was just over in the UK last week, and you couldn't believe how much antipathy there is towards PRS's efforts.
Yup. But that hasn't stopped them from greedily destroying the business they're supposedly trying to save by demanding ever more and more money, as KT noted above.
They're not "advocates for their constituencies." They're advocates for squeezing short-term dollars at the expense of long-term opportunity.
And their actions have massively damaged their reputation in the UK. They're not about setting up better business models. They're just looking to squeeze money.
No, you misunderstand me. I'm saying that licensing and royalties themselves are outdated modes of compensation for creative works, and there are much better models that don't require getting payment for every use.
It would focus the musicians on business models that are fan-friendly, rather than anti-fan. And, because of that, they'd greatly benefit, as would stand alone songwriters, who would have many more opportunities to get paid due to better relationships between musicians and fans, allowing those musicians to pay for songwriters where necessary.
There is a cultural question here that is almost absent. Unless everyone lifts their heads and sees what is happening around them, then music people (I mean people who make music not the industry. An industry is an industry and they don't make music, they make units for sale, like any other industry. They only follow the money) are at the mercy of market forces like everyone else. The market is reductionist. Culture is meant to be expansionist. Music creators, if they are serious, need to be looking for allies everywhere: like minded people who are creative and revolutionary in their thought. This is a time of change and opportunity and the next wave will not come from the industry, the middlemen, or the market.